Chicago corn and wheat rose while soybean dropped Thursday.

The most active corn contract for May delivery rose 6.25 cents, or 0.88 percent, to close at 7.165 dollars per bushel. May wheat rose 14.75 cents, or 2.08 percent, to settle at 7.2475 dollars per bushel. May soybeans dropped 11.5 cents, or 0.79 percent, to close at 14.355 dollars per bushel.

May corn traded higher on expected export sales and a stronger wheat market Thursday.

Net weekly export sales of corn came at 282,300 tonnes for the current marketing year and 371,000 tonnes for the next marketing year for a total of 653,300 tonnes. By March 7, cumulative sales stood at 70.5 percent of the USDA forecast for the current marketing year, as against a five-year average of 75 percent.

Firm interior cash market also supported corn.

But, drought conditions have eased moderately in Missouri, Iowa, and the Eastern Corn Belt, which has somehow curbed the growth of corn prices.

May wheat grew sharply on better-than-expected export demand data released Thursday.

Net weekly export sales of wheat came at 888,500 tonnes for the current marketing year and 198,500 for the next marketing year for a total of 1,087,000 tonnes. By March 7, cumulative sales of wheat stood at 87 percent of the USDA forecast, as against a five-year average of 88.5 percent.

Brazil and Egypt were major wheat buyers Thursday. Of the 14, 533-tonne imports reported this week, 14,408 tonnes were from the U.S..

Meanwhile, EU granted export licenses for 476,000 tonnes of soft wheat this week, bringing this marketing year total export to 14.2 million tonnes.

May soybean slipped on reports that China may have canceled South American cargo purchases and on news that its port stocks have swelled as new crop soybeans from Brazil are on the way.

Net weekly export sales of soybean reached 657,700 tonnes for the current marketing year and 126,000 tonnes for the next marketing year for a total of 783,700. By March 7, cumulative sales of soybean stood at 97 percent of the USDA forecast, as against a five-year average of 85 percent. Endi

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