Heightened drought fears lifted wheat prices to fresh one-year highs in London and Paris, as weekend rains proved " often insufficient" to refresh parched French crops, while Russia lowered its harvest forecast.

Despite the closure of Chicago's farm commodity markets for a US national holiday, a void which typically limits movement in Europe, Paris wheat for November � the best-traded lot - jumped 2.8% to E154.50 a tonne, the highest for a second-in contract since June last year.

London wheat for November soared 3.6% to �115.00 a tonne, a level not seen in the nearest-but-one contract since mid-July last year.

The rises followed disappointment over weekend rain in France, Europe's top grain producer, which, as in neighbouring Germany and UK, has suffered a dearth of rainfall.

'Scattered storms' 

"The storms at the weekend were very scattered and often insufficient to make up for a lack of water," Agritel, the Paris-based crop consultancy, said.

"It is too early to estimate the actual French harvest at this stage but already echoes of [varying quality] dominate the market with, according to the stage of culture, good and bad surprises."

While quality appeared "so far good" in winter barley, damage in spring barley "could be more significant, [causing] a consequent rise in prices".

'State of emergency'

In Moscow, Russia's farm ministry cut its grain harvest estimate to 85m tonnes from 88m-90m tonnes, following reductions to forecasts by private analysts.

SovEcon, the Moscow-based analysis group, last week cut its estimate to 82m-86m tonnes, warning that further heat could take the total to 80m tonnes, while the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies has reduced its forecast to 86m-87m tonnes.

"Drought has hit Volga, Urals and Central federal districts with 12 regions declaring a state of emergency," Yelena Skrynnik, Russia's agriculture minister, said.

However, with stocks of 24m tonnes left over from two years of bumper harvests, with production at 108m tonnes in 2008 and 97m tonnes last year, the country would still be able to keep exports at 20m tonnes, she added.

Russia's rise over the last decade as an exporter of low-cost grain has kept a lid on prices in other markets, including Europe's.

Kazakhstan too?

Further crop downgrades may be on their way, a City analyst told Agrimoney.com, noting talk, which has yet to be confirmed, that Kazakhstan's crop was also suffering from heat damage.

"We are going to see some pretty decent revisions with all the heat we have had," the analyst said, noting a probable downgrade on Friday to official American estimates for the EU crop when the US Department of Agriculture releases its latest monthly report on global crop supply and demand.

However, the harvest in Ukraine is said be appearing more promising than that in Black Sea neighbours Kazakhstan and Russia, with Agritel that rainfall had "refreshed the atmosphere".

And many analysts have pointed out that, even if crops in struggle Europe and Russia - and indeed Canada where a wet spring is believed to have cut wheat sowings to their lowest for 39 years - the world has ample supplies, with stocks estimated at some 200m tonnes.