GRAINS-Chicago soybeans hit six-week high, track crude gains on Iran tensions

BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures hit their highest point in more than six weeks on Thursday, tracking higher crude oil prices, as talks to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran have deadlocked.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.33% at $12.01 a bushel, as of 0219 GMT. Soyoil BOcv1 gained 0.51% to 74.5 cents per pound.

Oil prices extended gains on concerns that supply from the key Middle East oil-producing region will remain bottled up for longer. Rising prices have buoyed the soy complex and corn futures, as soybeans and corn are key feedstocks for biofuel production. O/R

Wheat (CBOT) Wv1 was up 0.34% at $6.55-1/4 a bushel, hovering near its highest level in nearly two years, supported by concerns over dryness in the U.S. winter wheat belt.

Rainy weather in the U.S. Plains wheat belt could alleviate some of the drought stress on crops, but some areas may have already experienced yield loss. Upcoming rain is forecast to miss some dry areas.

Corn Cv1 rose 0.05% to 4.78 a bushel, hovering near a two-year high, buoyed by strong export demand, slight weather concerns in the U.S. corn belt and expectations of reduced planting due to high fertiliser costs.

Taiwan's MFIG purchasing group bought about 65,000 metric tons of animal feed corn expected to be sourced from the U.S. in an international tender on Wednesday, European traders said.

Early planting of U.S. soybeans and corn has progressed well, though expected storms in the Midwest could delay seeding in some areas.

Commodity funds were net sellers of corn, wheat and soymeal, traders said on Wednesday. CBOT/FUNDS