Soybeans, corn rebound on Iran war, US dryness

SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans and corn rose on Monday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses, underpinned by higher crude oil prices as a widening US-Israel conflict with Iran lifted energy markets.

Wheat gained ground after closing largely unchanged in the last session.

There was additional support for agricultural markets stemming from dry weather in key US growing areas.

“It has been very dry in the US,” said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank.

“We have both factors impacting prices, Iran war and dry weather in the US”

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.2% to $11.62 a bushel by 0201 GMT, corn added 0.3% to $4.63-1/2 a bushel and wheat gained 0.3% at $6.06-1/2 a bushel.

Oil prices extended gains, with Brent headed for a record monthly rise, after Yemeni Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel over the weekend, widening the US-Israel war with Iran in the Middle East.

Agricultural products such as soybeans and corn often take direction from energy markets amid growing use of farm goods in making alternative fuels.

The Trump administration ordered US refiners on Friday to blend a record amount of biofuels into their gasoline and diesel this year and next, a move intended to help farmers but that the refining industry said would only backfire by raising pump prices already spiking due to the war in Iran.

There are concerns about knock-on effects on crop production from rising energy and fertiliser prices.

The war has upended the planting intentions of US farmers, resulting in fewer acres of corn and the lowest quantity of spring wheat planted since 1970 as rising fertiliser and fuel costs and low grain prices dim the outlook for profits, analysts said ahead of a US government report due on Tuesday.

The US Department of Agriculture is due to release its annual prospective plantings report at 1600 GMT on Tuesday, its first survey-based crop acreage estimate of the year.

Traders are closely monitoring drought in the southern US Plains, with hot weather last week raising the risk of more crop stress.

Large speculators raised their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to March 24, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and cut their net long position in soybeans.