Chicago grains slid on Wednesday, giving up ‌recent gains, as a decline in crude oil prices on hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal to halt ​the war pressured grains and oilseed futures. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slipped 0.5% ​at $12.06 a ​bushel, as of 0955 GMT, having fallen around 1% in the previous session. Corn lost 1.9% to $4.71 a bushel and wheat gave up 2.2% to $6.14-1/4 a bushel. On Monday, ⁠corn hit its highest since April 2025 and soybeans climbed to their highest in nearly eight weeks. Wheat jumped to a two-year peak last week.

A Pakistani source involved in the peace efforts told Reuters that the United States and Iran are closing in on a one-page ​memorandum to end ‌the war in ⁠the Gulf, confirming information ⁠first released by U.S. media Axios. The news prompted oil prices to extend their declines on Wednesday, slumping ​to two-week lows.

Conflict-driven fluctuations in oil prices have influenced grain markets, ‌as corn and soybean oil are widely used ⁠for biofuel production. Wheat often follows through and the fall was amplified by forecasts of rain in some dry U.S. wheat zones this week, although traders said precipitation may come too late in some areas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly report said 31% of the nation's winter wheat crop was in good to excellent condition, up from 30% last week but still the lowest for this time of the year since 2023.

A group of Oklahoma crop experts on Tuesday projected Oklahoma's 2026 winter wheat harvest at 47.799 million bushels, with an average ‌yield of 23.11 bushels per acre, following an annual tour of ⁠the state, said Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma ​Wheat Commission.

The estimates were sharply lower than the 10-year yield average of 94.499 million bushels in Oklahoma, among the top U.S. wheat-producing states. Prices at 0955 GMT Last Pct Change Move CBOT wheat 614.25 -2.15 -13.50 CBOT corn 471.00 -9.00 -1.88 CBOT soy 1206.00 -5.50 -0.45 Paris wheat 208.00 -3.00 -1.42 Paris maize 219.50 -5.25 -2.34 Paris rapeseed 517.75 -7.75 -1.47 Euro/dlr 1.18 0.01 0.72 Most active contracts - ​Wheat, corn ‌and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne