London crops made headway in what trade there was on a thin day for dealing, with US markets closed.

A weaker pound, on rumours of heavy selling by a UK clearing bank, provided a helpful backdrop to all sterling-denominated commodities by making them cheaper as exports.

But cocoa got an extra boost from data showing that exports from Sulawesi, Indonesia's main source of the beans, slumped 24% last month from August 2009, as merchants held on to crop in the face of weaker prices.

Furthermore, there are reports of unusually cloudy and rainy weather in Ivory Coast, the top cocoa producer, a combination viewed as a threat to bean quality.

London cocoa for September added �10 to �1,957 a tonne, with the December lot up �7 at �1,965 a tonne.

Export hopes 

And London feed wheat got extra help from reports that the crop was going to be of better quality than had been feared, given rain delays to the harvest, leaving less grain for feed companies to choose from.

One grower in size in the west of England told Agrimoney.com that milling wheat harvested a week ago had just passed the grade on hagberg falling numbers, in essence a measure of whether grain has tipped over into sprouting condition, while being well above muster in protein.

It was a comment reflected in broader dealer talk, as were hopes for greater exports.

"When we have an exportable surplus of 800,000-1m tonnes, its not going to be too difficult to get rid of," a trader at a leading European commodities house told Agrimoney.com.

'Prices well underpinned'

Rival merchant Frontier Agriculture had already summed up the position so:

"We remain at a significant discount to French wheat, which will continue to encourage exports of all grades of UK wheat.

"This fundamental point, coupled with continued buying activity, will mean prices are well underpinned in the medium term."

And indeed, London's November lot added 2.8% to �165.00 a tonne, the best close for a near-term contract since April 2008.

Harvest pressure eases 

Paris milling wheat wasn't so well supported, easing E0.25 to E231.75 a tonne for November delivery, depressed by a stronger euro, and an upgrade by France's farm ministry to its estimate for the soft wheat harvest.

But rapeseed did better, helped by the firm close on Friday to rival oilseed soybeans in Chicago, and by the continued tightness in Europe's own supplies, which is requiring a drip feed of supplies from Australia.

Furthermore, the close of harvest has eased that impact of that source of ready supplies on the market.

Rapeseed for November delivery added E1.75 to E380.00 a tonne, the second best close for a spot lot, after an early-August high, of the last two years.

Sweeter sugar? 

Back in the softs market, white sugar for October added 0.5% to $595.20 a tonne,

Sugar markets "seem to be taking a pause before the next step which, given recent weather concerns, still seems to point upwards", said Nick Penney, Sucden Financial.

Dryness looks set to bring 2010-11 in Brazil, the top producer, to a disappointing close, besides causing big damage to Russian beet and, to a lesser extent, crops in the European Union too.