An unlikely combination of Canada, China and Vietnam ensured a standout performance by crops, even against the run of play in external markets.

Friday was one of those rare days when just about any crop came up trumps (in the US) although particularly coffee and oats.

Oats for July soared 5.8% to $2.27 as bushel in Chicago, their highest close for a spot lot since February, boosted by downward revisions to Europe's crop on Thursday, and poor prospects for Canadian grains, of which more later.

The grain has now gained 15.7% in three trading days.

Coffee rally gets blended 

That is almost as good as London robusta coffee beans, which added a further 5.7% to its winning streak to close at $1,560 a tonne, the best finish for a near-term contract for more than a year.

The lot has now soared 16.3% in three trading days, buoyed by talk of that a well-know merchant has taken a big position in the July lot, so forcing other buyers to pay up to cover positions or ensure deliveries from Vietnam, the world's biggest producer of the bean.

Bullishness spread to New York arabicas too, which for July delivery jumped 5.8% to 144.95 cents a pound, the best finish for near-term beans for nigh on five months.

Technical, rather than fundamental, factors have been seen as key to the rise, encouraging in momentum funds which has set up something of a virtuous circle.

Still, in Brazil, the top arabica producer, some cool weather has been noted� not a threat yet, but potentially a big setback producers if frost strikes.

Corn rises

Among Chicago's big names, corn topped the podium, in percentage terms, soaring 1.8% to $3.49 � a bushel.

Part represented a continued glow from Thursday's lift to US Department of Agriculture estimates for how much corn will be used by bioethanol plants to the end of 2010-11.

"Corn acres will need to expand another 7m acres by 2015, just four years away, to meet the ethanol growth," US Commodities said.

"Biofuels are really the only new viable alternative fuel."

Monlate

China was a big factor. Sure, there were rumours of more Chinese corn orders floating around, this time of two cargoes.

But there are fears of a more significant development, with the country's own corn crop, the world's second biggest, "suffering from warm and dry conditions", Benson Quinn Commodities said.

"So far tropical monsoon rains have failed to materialise, and analysts suggest the situation calls for rains sooner rather than later or the crop could suffer permanent damage," the broker said.

Darrell Holaday at rival Country Futures said: "Chinese weather in their corn areas is probably the most bullish factor for [Chicago] corn."

Indeed, new crop corn kept up with old in the Windy City, adding 1.8% to $3.63 � a bushel.

Canada wet 

That was better than wheat could do. But, old crop especially, put in a respectable performance to close up 1.7% at $4.40 � a bushel, if more than 8 cents off their intraday high.

Corn's performance was a help, with a growing observation that relatively cheap wheat will take some feed demand from maize.

But the biggest fillip was viewed to be Canadian Wheat Board data late on putting some high numbers on the crops that will be lost to the country's abysmal spring sowing season.

Up to 12.5m acres of farmland will go unseeded in the Prairies, the country's main arable producer.

Wheat sowings will be their smallest in western Canada since 1971, including durum plantings down nearly 40%. Wheat production is expected to fall 22%.

Spring wheat springs 

Still, the figures were a bigger help to investors in Minneapolis, which trades spring wheat, the type Canadian farmers mainly grow (or try to).

Minneapolis's July lot was up nearly 8% at one stage before losing most of that ground to close up 2.4% at $501.75 cents a bushel.

As for European wheat, well, the CWB data came just too late to cause much reaction.

November wheat eased E0.25 to E136.50 a tonne in Paris, while adding �0.25 to �101.00 a tonne in London amid some signs of export interest.

"A 50,000-tonne feed wheat cargo was sold out of Southampton this week, bound for Asia," Glencore's UK grain arm said, noting that "there is interest for further vessels".

However, the observation came with a proviso.

"There is only a very small window � probably no more than 20 days - before plentiful quantities of new crop feed grains, wheat in the US and barley in Europe, come on stream."

Canola payola 

Rapeseed was also mixed, adding E0.25 to E320.50 a tonne for November delivery in Paris, but losing the same to E325.00 a tonne for February 2011.

Again, the CWB data came just too late � the country is a huge producer of rapeseed variant canola, which closed up 0.4% in Winnipeg at Can$395.40 a tonne, its best finish for five months.

Soybeans did better, ending up 1.2% in Chicago, for July delivery, showing a reslience that has surprised many investors, and which is being credited by a reluctance among US farmers to sell what is left of their 2009-10 crops.

Sugar rides again

Amonng softs, sugar had a fine day too, jumping 3.1% to 15.83 cents a pound in New York for July delivery, the best close for a near-term lot since late April.

London white sugar for August gained 3.2% to $524.00 a tonne, its best for a week longer.

Besides the general placement among softs back in funds' good books, sugar is being helped by reports of tight supplies of whites which, being already refined, tend to be the first call for countries worried about immediate supplies.

Furthermore, Thomas Kujawa, Sucden Financial Sugar noted some concern at the forecasts of a mega hurricane season, and "gossip that perhaps the US may raise its raw-sugar import quota for the second time this year to ease the supply headache of the domestic food companies".