SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures gained almost 1% on Monday, with prices rising for a third consecutive session, underpinned by short-covering and geopolitical tensions.
Corn and soybeans also edged higher.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.8% at $5.71 a bushel, as of 0027 GMT, adding to Friday's 2.5% rally.
* Corn climbed 0.2% to $4.34-1/4 a bushel while soybeans added 0.1% to $11.67 a bushel.
* Reports of Israeli missile strikes in Iran on Friday fuelled fears of an escalating conflict in the Middle East, although Tehran played down the incident.
* Traders had feared that expanding violence in the region could impact shipments in the region and from Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter and an ally of Iran.
* The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday with broad bipartisan support passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over bitter objections from Republican hardliners.
* On the fundamental front, China's soybean imports from the United States fell by half in March from a year earlier and corn exports also plummeted, as buyers favour more competitive supplies from Brazil's hefty harvest, data showed on Saturday.
* Russia's government said on Saturday it has introduced an additional quota of 5 million tons for exports of wheat, meslin, rye, barley and corn outside the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union until June 30 to support local producers.
* The main export quota of 24 million tons had been set for Feb. 15 until June 30.
MARKET NEWS
* The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed sharply lower on Friday and Treasury yields dipped as investors juggled lackluster earnings, uncertainties surrounding central bank policy and geopolitical strife.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0115 China Loan Prime Rate 1Y, 5Y April 1000 UK CBI Business Optimism Q2 1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash April n/a UK House Price Rightmove MM, YY April (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
