Last week was busy for corn, soybean and wheat exports, with sales of all three crops up from the prior week, particularly for new-crop soybeans, where sales more than doubled the previous week’s business, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export report.

The larger corn and soybean export numbers were expected as USDA had announced many of the deals in its daily reporting program for big sales.

Also on Thursday, USDA announced three daily sales that included 4.41 million bu. of new-crop soybeans to China, 4.74 million bu. of new-crop soybeans to unknown destinations and 100,460 metric tons of soybean meal to Mexico. The soybean meal to Mexico included 72,122 mt of 2016-17 supplies and 28,338 mt of the 2017-18 crop. These daily sales will be added to a future weekly report.

In the export report for the week ended Aug. 4, old-crop corn sales of 23.4 million bu. were up 80% from the prior week and beat estimates in a Reuters poll. South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were the top buyers. The 23.4 million bu. total was enough to keep corn sales on pace to surpass USDA’s annual forecast, with about four weeks left in the crop year. However, shipments of 56.8 million bu. were short of the amount needed to meet that forecast. New-crop corn business of 40 million bu. was led by unknown destinations, Mexico and Chile.

Old-crop soybean sales of 11.3 million bu. were led by China, Vietnam and Spain. Total old-crop soybean sales have surpassed the annual amount forecasted by USDA. New-crop sales of 102.6 million bu. were up sharply from the previous week and were led by China and unknown destinations.

Wheat sales came in at 22.3 million bu., up 86% from the prior week and beating trade forecasts, with Mexico, Indonesia and unknown destinations as the leading buyers.

Chicago, Ill., crop markets had little reaction to the numbers: Corn futures were nearly unchanged when the overnight session closed, soybeans lost a few cents after the export news, with November down 0.5 cent/bu., and wheat markets were 1-2 cents/bu. higher.

Soybean meal export sales of 47,900 mt were down 36% from the previous week, with Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela as the leading buyers. New-crop sales of 50,400 mt also were down from a week ago, led by unknown destinations, Nicaragua and Burma.

Sorghum sales of 2.38 million bu. for 2015-16 were down from a week ago and went to China, unknown destinations and Colombia. New-crop sales of 2.19 million bu. went to unknown destinations.