Agricultural commodities rose to multi-year highs yesterday following crude oil’s surge to $100 a barrel as traders anticipated higher demand from the expanding global biofuels industry.

In Chicago, wheat jumped 16 cents to $9.31 a bushel, 59 cents below its all-time high, while soyabeans rose to $12.38, a fresh 34-year high, and corn traded within touching distance of its recent 11-year high.

In Paris, rapeseed prices rose to record levels, up 1.5 per cent to