Chicago wheat futures touched 10-month highs on Monday with corn and soybeans also rising following gains in crude oil, as U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled leaving Gulf shipping blocked, analysts said.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat was last 4-1/2 cents higher to $6.21-1/4 per bushel as of 10:00 a.m. CT (1500 GMT), touching its highest since June 2025. Soybeans were last 8-3/4 cents higher to $11.72-1/2 per bushel, and corn was up 3-1/4 cents to $4.58-1/4 per bushel.
Crude oil prices rose almost 3% on Monday. Corn and soybean futures often track fluctuations in crude oil prices, as both are feedstocks for biofuels.
Early U.S. soybean and corn planting has been making good progress, though storms expected in the U.S. Midwest could delay seeding in some areas.
Overly wet weather over the U.S. corn belt has provided light support to prices in conjunction with turmoil in the Middle East that has choked off the flow of fertilizer.
Farmers around the world are facing the second surge in fertilizer prices in four years due to the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. The Middle East is a leading fertilizer production hub, and much of the global fertilizer trade typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has seen traffic brought to a standstill by the conflict.
Corn prices were also underpinned by robust export demand, with another South Korean corn purchase reported on Monday.
Traders are also monitoring rainy weather in the U.S. Plains wheat belt that could help ease drought-stressed wheat crops, though some areas may have already experienced yield loss and rain is forecast to miss other dry areas.
"There's a sense that one rain event isn't going to break the drought," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading.
Traders are looking ahead to a mid-May meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping with hopes that China will agree to additional purchases of U.S. soybeans and other agricultural goods.
(Reuters)
