An extension ag economist points to the duration of the military action in Iran as a major market factor.
Chad Hart with Iowa State University says this is the second attack conducted by the U.S. and Israel in less than a year.
“We saw a brief spike up in prices, but we saw things calm down in the days after that. So it was a very short-lived interaction. The sense is this one’s going to be a much-longer military action, and that’s going to lead to bigger ramifications.”
He tells Brownfield retaliation by militias backed by Iran broadens the conflict.
“It’s involving many more countries in the Middle East, and therefore is going to lead to larger movements across all the commodity markets.”
Hart says uncertainty in the Middle East will likely result in higher commodity prices, but also higher costs for ag inputs like fuel and fertilizer.
