DES MOINES, Iowa (Agriculture.com)--Strong export sales have helped the CME Group corn, soybean and wheat markets close higher Thursday.

The May futures corn contract closed 2 cents higher at $6.91. The May soybean futures contract closed 7 cents higher at $14.73. May wheat futures settled 11 cents higher at $6.95 per bushel. The May soyoil futures contract settled $0.35 higher at $50.61. The May soymeal futures closed $0.80 per short ton higher at $436.10. 

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $1.16 per barrel higher, the dollar is lower and the Dow Jones Industrials are 35 points higher.