Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean export sales plunged last week to a nine-month low due to a large cancellation of new-crop purchases by top importer China, government data on Thursday showed.
Net corn export sales were in line with low trade expectations after net negative sales the previous week, capped by uncompetitive prices on the world market, while wheat sales rose 42 percent from the prior week but were within trade forecasts.
Soybean export sales in the week that ended July 26 totaled 194,000 tonnes for shipment in the current marketing year, which ends Aug. 31, and a net 52,400 tonnes for shipment in the next marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report.
New-crop sales were dented by a net cancellation of purchases by China of 163,500 tonnes.
Combined marketing year sales were the lowest since the week of Oct. 27, 2011, and net soybean sales to China were the lowest in nearly 14 months, USDA data showed.
Net corn export sales last week totaled 178,400 tonnes for 2011/12 marketing year shipment and just 23,000 tonnes for 2012/13, USDA said. Sales were expected to be between zero and 200,000 tonnes.
Japan, the No. 1 importer of U.S. corn, was the week's top buyer with 150,900 tonnes of old-crop purchases and 45,000 tonnes of new-crop purchases.
Net export sales of all classes of U.S. wheat totaled 520,700 tonnes last week, most of it for shipment in the current marketing year which runs through May 2013, USDA said. Traders had expected sales from 400,000 to 600,000 tonnes.
