March 9, 2026 10:48 AM, EDT
Palm and soybean oil prices surged and wheat hovered near the highest in almost two years as the war in the Middle East drove up energy and fertilizer costs and threatened to tighten supplies across agricultural markets.
Disruptions to crude oil supplies wrought by the conflict are boosting the appeal of crop-based biofuels, lifting demand for vegetable oils and corn.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a major conduit for the fertilizer trade — has also sent crop nutrient prices soaring as farmers rush to secure supplies. At the same time, wartime food security concerns may prompt some countries to build stockpiles of staples such as wheat.
Palm oil initially jumped as much as 10% — the most since 2022 — before paring some gains.
Chicago futures of soybean oil, palm’s closest substitute, rose as much as 5%, up for an 11th day and headed for the longest run of gains since 2008. Wheat, corn and soybean prices also climbed higher.
Crop Prices
- Soybean oil for May delivery in Chicago was up 2.5% at 68.24c/lb as of 8:10 a.m. in Chicago
- Soybeans gained 1.3% to $12.16 a bushel
- Wheat was up 0.8% to $6.22 a bushel
- Corn was up 0.9% to $4.65 a bushel
- Palm oil settled 4.6% higher at 4,567 ringgit/ton in Kuala Lumpur
“Grain and oilseed markets are following energy in early Monday trading,” said Joe Davis, director at Futures International, a brokerage. “The macro and energy markets will continue to lead ag commodities on any escalation of the war on Iran.”
Vegetable oils and meal in China also surged on March 9. The most actively traded soybean meal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rallied as much as 6% to 3,066 yuan per ton while palm also rose to hit a daily limit. Rapeseed oil and meal did the same in Zhengzhou.
Spiking crude prices have stoked fears of faster inflation globally, rattling broader markets. Davis said U.S. consumers could see an immediate effect on prices at the pump, then in food inflation if shipping and fertilizer prices remain elevated.
“These geopolitical commodity rallies typically unfold over weeks, not days,” David Whitcomb, founder of Peak Trading Research, said in a note. “These moves look less like a one-week spike and more like the early phase of a sustained shift higher in prices.”
Written by Hallie Gu, Eko Listiyorini and Pyotr Kozlov
