Sales of U.S. corn were strong in the latest week, recovering from a disappointing showing in the prior period. Net new bookings totaled a robust 50.9 million bushels, according to this morning's figures from USDA.

The strong showing put cumulative sales for the year ahead of the pace needed to reach USDA's total for the marketing year, which the agency consistently ratcheted down over the winter. It's unclear if today's numbers will give the market much additional lift, however. Some traders tend to discount the weekly numbers, noting they represent sales that took place as along as two weeks ago. In addition, much of the total for South Korea, which led the list of buyers with 19 million bushels, was previously announced under USDA's daily reporting system. Finally, most of the business was to regular customers in Asia and the Americas.

Soybean sales were also good this week, reaching almost 20 million bushels. Previously announced sales to China took almost 60% of the weekly total, which remains well above USDA's forecast for the marketing year. China has begun to shift some purchases to South America, so the good showing from the U.S. is especially welcomed, suggesting some buyers remain nervous about supplies from Argentina.

USDA also this morning announced the sale of another 4 million bushels of new crop beans to China under its daily reporting system.

Wheat sales were up from the previous week, coming in line with expectations at 14.3 million bushels. Purchases were made by a number of countries, suggesting good demand for high quality wheat. Buyers, however remain very price sensitive for ordinary grades.

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