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BlockBeats News, March 25th, an official from the Iraqi Ministry of Energy stated that due to the ongoing Iran war, combined with crude oil storage near full capacity and transport disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, the country's oil production has continued to significantly decline. Data shows that production from major oil fields in southern Iraq has further dropped by about 80%, to around 800,000 barrels per day; whereas earlier this month, the region's production had already fallen from a pre-war level of around 4.3 million barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day. To address storage pressure and export bottlenecks, Iraq has decided to further cut production starting from Tuesday. In addition, the Iraqi authorities have requested BP to reduce production at the Rumaila oil field from around 450,000 barrels per day to 350,000 barrels per day; and have also asked Eni to cut production at the Zubair oil field from 330,000 barrels per day to 260,000 barrels per day.

TD Securities strategists stated in a report that the ongoing oil price shock stemming from the Iran conflict could ultimately be detrimental to the U.S. dollar. They indicated that the U.S.'s energy independence should delay the impact on the U.S. compared to the EU and Asia, thus temporarily favoring the dollar in terms of growth and relative interest rate differentials. "Ultimately, even the U.S. and the Federal Reserve will not be immune to the growth and macro impacts of prolonged disruptions in the energy markets," they said. They added that if the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates by the end of this year, the dollar should weaken in the medium term. Concerns about the U.S. deficit may also be exacerbated by increased defense spending.

CBOT soybean futures edged up slightly as Russia will halt ammonium nitrate fertilizer exports for one month, and with the USDA planting intentions report approaching, fluctuations in fertilizer costs may significantly impact farmers' planting decisions.