Corn export sales hit a marketing-year low of 13 million bushels this past week, but remain on pace to meet USDA projections with seven weeks left in the crop year.

Soybean sales at 1.7 million bushels in Thursday's USDA weekly export sales report matched forecasts and were up 10% from the week before. Currently, sales have exceeded USDA's crop-year forecast.

Wheat export sales slipped 16% to 10.7 million bushels and are below the weekly pace needed to meet USDA's forecast. The crop year is about six weeks old and sales and shipments currently are down about 24% from a year ago.

Soybean sales improve, new-crop tops forecast in latest USDA export sales report (Doranjclark/Thinkstock)

The corn sales of 13 million bushels for the 2014/2015 year were at the low end of trade forecasts in a Reuters poll. Top buyers were Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan. New-crop business of 12.8 million bushels topped forecasts and was more than double the previous week's.  Mexico, Japan and unknown destinations were the top markets.

Old-crop soybean sales of nearly 1.7 million bushels were up 10% from the previous week and matched forecasts with Japan, Panama and Taiwan the leading buyers. New-crop soybean sales of 18.6 million topped forecasts with unknown destinations, Japan and Mexico the top markets.

The wheat sales of nearly 10.7 million bushels missed trade forecasts with the Philippines, Japan and Jamaica the leading buyers.

After the export report, Chicago corn rose about 1 cent a bushel and soybeans added 1 to 2 cents going into the close of the overnight session.  September and December corn were up 6-3/4 cents. August soybeans finished the overnight up 7-1/4 cents and September up 8-1/2.  In wheat, Chicago's September SRW wheat dropped about a penny after the report to finish the overnight up 4 cents and December was up 3-1/2.

USDA reported soymeal export sales of 33,000 metric tons for the 2014/2015 crop year, down 68% from the previous week with the Libya, Colombia and Honduras the leading buyers. New-crop sales of 39,200 tons were led by Ecuador and Guatemala.

Old-crop sorghum sales of nearly 4,000 bushels went to China.