Traders sold on forecasts of a strong crop in Ivory Coast, which accounts for 40 per cent of global output

High prices in food commodities, amid a sharp rise in wheat prices, are the driver for change

Six-month high is attained on the back of very strong physical demand and export holdups

Vendors urged to demand much more to increase their farming productivity and peoples' livehoods

Local-level implementation gives credence to national energy efficiency targets and raises stock prices in the sector on the prospect of supply cuts of up to 10 per cent in September

Robust industrial demand as the global manufacturing cycle gains momentum after the summer helps silver towards a two-and-half year high

Three weeks after its initially secret $39bn approach to PotashCorp, the Anglo-Australian miner faces conflicting pressures over the price it might have to pay to secure its target

Dry conditions as winter planting begins suggests trouble ahead in the grain belt which would put markets under heavy pressure

BHP Billiton's $39bn hostile takeover bid for PotashCorp has revived interest in the commodity and the companies mining it, prompting investors to flood fertiliser consultants for advice

The world's second-largest exporter has unexpectedly extended export restrictions on the fibre, reversing promises made three weeks ago

Precious metals should benefit more from renewed quantitative easing than base metals such as copper, with silver likely to outperform gold

The fuel's price could rise enough to make it more expensive than gas

The cost of barley, an important feed for the livestock industry, and of rice also moved higher on the week

The price of ready-to-roast coffee beans has gone up by a third this year, considerably more than wheat (20 per cent) or lean hogs (16 per cent)

Wheat prices have risen further in the wake of Russia's decision to extend its grain export ban by 12 months, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08