CHICAGO, Dec 18: Chicago Board of Trade agricultural commodities closed higher across the board Wednesday.
The most active corn contract for March delivery rose 2.25 cents, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 4.0825 U.S. dollars per bushel. January soybeans increased 3.5 cents, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 10.27 dollars per bushel. March wheat added 25.25 cents, or 4.05 per cent, to close at 6.485 dollars per bushel.
Wheat future rose sharply Wednesday, extending gains to a fifth straight session as a report said Russia's Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) has restricted grain export certificates for some countries, including Egypt, the world 's largest wheat importer.
March wheat has been pushing to its highest level since late May with demand fueled by strong expectation that Russia would slow the pace of wheat exports in the coming months, even as Russian officials denied any delays in issuing grain export certificates.
Corn futures found support from higher weekly ethanol production. A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows U.S. ethanol production through last Friday totaled a record 291 million gallons, up 1 per cent from the previous week, while weekly stocks are slightly down. Analysts note that profit margins are lessening which will allow supply to decrease. The U.S. Department of Energy is not expected to make any changes to its ethanol demand, but some analysts believe prices are too high.    ?Agencies