GRAINS-Soybean futures rise as Iran conflict and crude prices boost market

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, March 30 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures firmed on Monday, and analysts said the market drew support from concerns over escalation in the Iran conflict coupled with firmer crude oil prices. O/R

Crude oil rose to over $100 per barrel during the trading session, offering strong support for soybean oil - which is used for making biodiesel. Soymeal futures also firmed in nearby contracts, supported by Friday's Commitments of Traders report showing that funds had added to their already long positions in the meal market.

Corn futures eased on position adjustments ahead of Tuesday's government planting intentions report. Wheat futures turned higher on technical trading and as weather forecasts for rainfall this week may not be as heavy as hoped for in parts of the Southwest Plains.

Grain and oilseed traders are awaiting the release of the USDA's prospective U.S. plantings report on Tuesday, as the Iran war is believed to have changed the planting intentions of U.S. farmers, resulting in fewer acres of corn and the lowest quantity of spring wheat planted since 1970 as rising fertilizer and fuel costs dim the profit outlook.

Earlier in the day, USDA separately announced exporters sold 145,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to unknown destinations for the 2025/26 marketing year. The agency also announced that U.S. corn export inspections for the week ended March 26 were at 1,789,524 bushels, above the range of trader expectations.

CBOT's most-active soybeans Sv1 was up 0.39% to $11.63-3/4 a bushel at 12:07 p.m. CDT (1707 GMT). Wheat Wv1 firmed 0.83% to $6.10 a bushel, while corn was down 0.97% to $4.57-1/2 a bushel.

Part of what traders are wrestling with right now is contradictory market indicators - whether related to export sales and what farmers will plant, to uncertainty about the Iran war and to inflationary risks in the U.S., said Darin Fessler, senior hedge advisor at Lakefront Futures & Options.

President Donald Trump - who has said that the Iran war peace talks were well underway - warned on Monday that Iran's energy plants and oil wells would be obliterated if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran described U.S. peace proposals as "unrealistic" and fired waves of missiles at Israel.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said the U.S. central bank can wait to see how the Iran war affects the economy and inflation, noting that policymakers typically look through shocks such as those from higher oil prices.

"There's a realization in the markets that these problems in the Middle East are real and that we're going to see inflationary pressures in the U.S. regardless of what Powell says, because he's been wrong before," Fessler said.