CBOT Trends-Wheat up 15-18 cents, corn up 3-6 cents, soy up 7-11 cents

CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - The following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CST (1430 GMT) on Friday:

WHEAT - Up 15 to 18 cents per bushel

• Wheat surged towards a one-year high, with fears of an escalating Middle East conflict fueling short-covering ahead of the weekend. GRA/

• The conflict has taken attention away from beneficial rain in some U.S. winter wheat belts, which could help bolster already comfortable global supply.

• Disruption caused by the war has also offset what is poised to be the steepest weekly gain for the U.S. dollar .DXY in more than a year as the turmoil drove up demand for safe-haven assets. A rising dollar usually makes U.S. exports less competitive in the global market.

• CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK26 was last up 17-1/2 cents at $6.01-1/2 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK26 was last up 16-1/4 cents at $6.08-3/4 per bushel, while Minneapolis May spring wheat MWEK26 was up 12 cents at $6.31-1/2 per bushel.

CORN - Up 3 to 6 cents

• Corn climbed, tracking surging oil prices.

• Grain markets can track movements in crude oil, partly due to investment flows from commodity funds and also because crops like soybeans and corn are widely used for making biofuel.

• CBOT May corn CK26 was last up 4-3/4 cents at $4.58-1/4 per bushel.

SOYBEANS - Up 7 to 11 cents

• Chicago soybeans rose to their highest since June 2024 on Friday, tracking gains in crude oil prices as investors continued to react to potential disruption from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

• Comments by Qatar's energy minister that he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the war continues and drives oil prices to $150 a barrel, further unsettled investors.

• Brazil's farmers are in the middle of harvesting what is expected to be a record crop that could slow Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans.

• CBOT May soybeans SK26 were last up 10-3/4 cents at $11.90 per bushel.