GRAINS-Chicago grains mixed as investors weigh Middle East war

BEIJING/PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures edged lower on Tuesday, while corn and wheat ticked up, as investors grappled with uncertainty over the course of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Oil prices LCOc1 rose on Tuesday. They had plunged during the previous session following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that he was postponing threatened strikes against Iranian power plants after progress in talks with Tehran. O/R

Iranian denials of negotiations with Washington along with ongoing military strikes on Tuesday in the three-week-old war tempered any hopes of de-escalation.

GRAINS BROADLY TRACK OIL

Grains and oilseed prices have broadly tracked fluctuations in crude oil during the conflict, reflecting the widespread use of corn and soyoil in biofuels and investor interest in the crops as an inflation hedge.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 ended the overnight session down 0.6% at $11.56 a bushel.

CBOT wheat Wv1 added 0.2% to $5.88-3/4 a bushel, and corn Cv1 rose 0.5% to $4.61-3/4 a bushel.

"Crude oil is in the driver's seat," Peak Trading Research said in a note.

The impact of the war on fertiliser markets, through disruption to Gulf shipping and soaring gas prices, could lead to knock-on effects on crop production, which are reliant to varying degrees on fertiliser nutrients.

Export restrictions by non-Gulf fertiliser suppliers, including China and Russia, could add to short-term tensions in supply.

Rising fuel and fertiliser prices may influence farmers' planting decisions, increasing interest in U.S. Department of Agriculture acreage estimates next week.

Market expectations that farmers could trim plans to plant input-intensive corn lent some support to the grain.

Wheat, meanwhile, drew support from concerns regarding drought in the U.S. Plains and robust prices in the biggest exporter Russia, analysts said.