Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed mixed on Thursday, with soybeans posting more-than-one-percent gains for the second consecutive session.

The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 2.75 cents, or 0.78 percent, to 3.5425 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery fell 0.25 cent, or 0.06 percent, to 4.43 dollars per bushel. November soybeans surged 15.5 cents,or 1.61 percent, to 9.76 dollars per bushel.

CBOT floor brokers reported that funds bought 8,000 contracts of soybeans, 4,000 contracts of corn and 1,400 contracts of wheat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday released its weekly export sales data, which put corn sales at the high end of expectations, and soybeans beat while wheat missed targets.

Private exporters reported to the USDA their export sales of 198,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China last week. The high demand for U.S. soybeans led to sharp increases in their futures' prices.

In the past two days, the CBOT soybean futures have added 26 cents.