GRAINS-Chicago grains and oilseeds tick up on crude oil strength, Plains weather

By Renee Hickman

CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) - Chicago grain and oilseed futures ticked up on Wednesday as money flowed toward those markets and crude oil gave corn and soybeans a boost.

Meanwhile wheat climbed on concerns about dry soils in the U.S. Southern Plains, analysts said.

The most-active CBOT wheat Wv1 contract rose 14-1/2 cents to $6.04-1/4 a bushel. Corn Cv1 added 9-1/4 cents to $4.63-1/4 a bushel. Most-active soybeans Sv1 rose 4-3/4 cents to $11.57 a bushel.

"Corn and soybeans appear to have tied themselves to the energy complex through renewable fuels," said Karl Setzer, co-founder of ConsusAg Consulting.

Oil prices rose more than 5% on Wednesday after Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to attack several energy facilities across the Middle East, heightening the risk of further disruptions to energy supplies in the region.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's attacks on Gulf neighbours have disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages.

Elsewhere, hotter-than-expected inflation numbers on Wednesday were also supportive, Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX, said in a note.

"We’ve generally seen positive money flow into the grain and oilseed sector when inflation expectations rise, as they have been, while the money flow reverses when those expectations pull back," he wrote.

U.S. producer prices increased by the most in seven months in February, driven by higher costs for services and a range of goods, and could accelerate further as the war in the Middle East ​boosts oil prices.

In wheat, ongoing dryness in the U.S. Southern Plains is causing concerns for the winter wheat crop, according to Setzer.

Weather forecaster Vaisala predicted dry conditions would continue in the region over the next 30-60 days.