By Jeff Wilson May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Corn rose for a third time this week and soybeans gained after the U.S. government reported increased export sales of the feed crops to China. China purchased 118,000 metric tons of corn for delivery before Aug. 31 and 120,000 tons of soybeans for delivery after the start of the harvest on Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today. China will sell more state-owned corn inventories to halt a rise in domestic prices as speculation of shortages grows. “The Chinese corn and soybean demand story will continue to support the markets,” said Don Roose, the president of U.S. Commodities Inc. in West Des Moines, Iowa. “No one knows how much more they will buy, and that will keep a bid under the market.” Corn futures for July delivery rose 6.5 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $3.685 a bushel at 10:34 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, erasing an earlier decline of 0.8 percent. On May 19, the commodity touched $3.535, the lowest level for most-active contract since April 27. Soybean futures for July delivery rose 4 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $9.48 a bushel in Chicago. The commodity touched $9.31 yesterday, the lowest level for the most-active contract since March 31. Demand for corn and soybeans in China, the world’s biggest consumer of grain and meat, will climb as an expanding economy boosts incomes and alters diets, said an executive at Cargill Inc., the largest U.S. agricultural company. Chinese Consumption Grows Annual soybean consumption will increase by as much as 8 percent annually over the next three to four years, while corn demand will grow by about a 5 percent rate as China’s livestock industry grows, boosting use of high-protein and energy-rich feed, Robert Day, general manager of Cargill’s south China operations, said at an industry meeting in Dongguan, China, on May 18. U.S. exporters last week sold 1.354 metric tons of corn for delivery before Sept. 1, up 65 percent from the previous week, the USDA said yesterday. Corn futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange jumped 18 percent in the past year after drought reduced last year’s harvest. The U.S. sold 478,462 tons of soybeans during the week ended May 13, double the average from the prior four weeks, the USDA said yesterday. Of the total, 60,000 tons were purchased by China. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

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