France has confirmed that it had overestimated the size of its soft wheat crop, citing lower plantings than it had previously thought for a 1m-tonne cut from its harvest figure.

The country's farm ministry reduced its estimate for France's soft wheat harvest – Europe's biggest – to 37.3m tonnes, reflecting a 126,000-hectare cut to its figure for sowings.

The revision, coupled with strong Chicago prices, helped Paris wheat close up E1.75 at E127.75 a tonne on Monday, its highest since the end of August.

London wheat leaped £2.25 a tonne to £103.25 a tonne, its best finish since August 4, with sterling's depreciation providing an extra fillip.

The pound dropped on Monday to a six-month low against a basket of currencies after analysts at the Centre for Economics and Business Research said that UK interest rates would stay at 0.5% until 2011.

Market doubts 

France's revision follows talk last week that a cut in estimates was on its way, although attention had focused on a report due from farm bureau FranceAgriMer on October 14.

The rumours had surprised many cash market operators last week "because the market is congested with the lack of storage for the corn crop", Paris-based consultancy Agritel said.

Monday's report also edged up by 5,000 tonnes, to 15.02m tonnes, the agriculture ministry's forecast for France's corn crop.

The rapeseed harvest, meanwhile, will set a record even more handsomely than had been thought, coming in at 5.62m tonnes, 130,000 tonnes higher than previously forecast.