By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for December delivery rose 1.2% to $8.12 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, climbing to its highest level since 2012 on global supply issues and prospects that Russia could raise taxes on wheat exports.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.4% to $12.21 1/2 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery rose 0.1% to $5.69 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

New Threshold: After finishing above $8 per bushel for the first time in nearly a decade, wheat futures continued their upward climb on Thursday, closing at their highest point since December 2012 and marking an 11% rise in the past month. "Wheat is back at multi-year highs on harvest delays from rain in Australia, Russia export taxes, Russia export quotas, and a continuation of the impact from the spring wheat failures in the U.S. and Canada," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. "The trend is higher and wheat for human consumption has inelastic demand."

Mulling it Over: Corn futures were under pressure today, with grain traders processing the implications of yesterday's report from the EIA showing a 68,000 barrel per day drop in daily production - backing off of the near-record rates seen in previous weeks. "This week's pullback in production is an interesting development, but it is way too early to draw any conclusions from just yet," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage. "After running at same-week record levels over the previous three weeks, this week's production returned to 'middle of the pack' status relative to the last six years, but still slightly exceeded the new average 'needed' pace for the USDA's annual corn demand target nonetheless."

INSIGHTS

Watering the Crops: Scattered rainfall is forecast in Brazilian soybean-growing areas, which is supporting a larger soybean crop this winter. Today, Brazilian crop agency Conab forecast production of 142 million metric tons of soybeans this season, up from 140.8 million tons forecast last month. Brazil produced 137.3 million tons of soybeans at this time last year. While scattered rainfall is forecast over the weekend, DTN says longer term dryness may affect the Brazilian crop. "The risk of drought in Southern Brazil is elevated," said AgResource.

Looking for a Decline: Export sales for U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat are expected to slide in tomorrow's weekly report, according to grain traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. For corn, sales are forecast between 700,000 to 1.4 million metric tons, soybean sales are forecast between 600,000 tons to 1.8 million tons, and wheat sales are expected between 200,000 tons to 450,000 tons. All three of these ranges are mostly lower than sales totals reported by the USDA last week. The report is delayed a day due to the Veterans Day holiday.

AHEAD:

--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.

--Tyson Foods will release its fourth quarter earnings report before the stock market opens Monday.

--The USDA will release its weekly export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA will release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

--The CFTC will release its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Monday.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-11-21 1538ET