Crop prices leap after US cuts supply hopes

Crop prices jumped, taking corn and soybeans to two-year highs in Chicago, after a barrage of data from US officials signalled further tightness in farm commodities, and beyond that markets had already factored in.

Corn and soybeans surged the maximum allowed by exchange rules in early deals in Chicago. Both crops ended 4% higher at two-year closing highs, with wheat gaining 1.5%, its first positive close in a week.

In Paris, wheat jumped 2.8% to E261.00 a tonne at one point, also a two-year top, with an upgrade by France to its wheat export forecast also lending support.

The price rises followed a string of estimates from the US Department of Agriculture cutting crop supplies, reflecting factors from strong demand for corn from bioethanol plants to Argentina's drought.

USDA itself, in unusually direct language, said that corn "cash and futures prices are expected to strengthen".