GRAINS-Chicago grains ease as market shifts focus from Iran conflict

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) - Chicago grain and soybean futures turned slightly lower on Wednesday as focus turned toward an abundant global supply of grains and away from the ongoing conflict in Iran that temporarily boosted prices, analysts said.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was last down 1-1/4 cents at $11.69-1/4 per bushel as of 11:40 a.m. CT (1740 GMT).

CBOT wheat Wv1 fell 6-1/2 cents to $5.67-1/2 per bushel, and CBOT corn Cv1 eased 3-1/2 cents to $4.43 per bushel.

"There's nothing friendly for beans, corn and wheat," said Mark Schultz, co-founder of Northstar Commodity. "There's a more-than-adequate supply of beans for the world and same for wheat."

Rain forecast in the U.S. winter wheat belt, as well as generally moderate weather for South American corn and soybean crops, continued to cap grain prices.

Though some traders have shifted focus away from Middle Eastern tensions, high crude oil prices due to the conflict have continued to lend some underlying support to agricultural markets, given that crops including soybeans and corn are widely processed for biofuel.

Uncertainty over further Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans was acting as a brake on prices of the oilseed, as many market players are skeptical that China will make additional purchases of U.S. beans amid Brazil's bumper harvest.

Top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are expected to meet in mid-March, signalling that plans for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping remain on track despite U.S. strikes on Iran, Bloomberg News reported.

For wheat, rains across the U.S. winter wheat belt and parts of the U.S. Midwest are providing ideal weather for the crop as it emerges from dormancy.

The corn market remained underpinned by brisk U.S. exports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 196,000 metric tons of U.S. corn for shipment to unknown destinations in the 2025/26 marketing year.