There was a pickup in spot market sales as weakness in the futures market has cut into cash prices, a Minnesota broker said.

Additionally, some livestock and poultry producers were booking orders to ensure they had enough supplies to last them through the upcoming US Memorial Day weekend.

Many processors will be shuttered for three days in a row due to the holiday on Monday.

The US Agriculture Department on Thursday morning said weekly export sales of soymeal totaled 159,900 tonnes (old-crop and new-crop combined), in line with forecasts for 50,000 to 250,000 tonnes.

At 9:25 a.m. CDT (1425 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade soymeal for July delivery was down 70 cents at $305.70 a ton, just 30 cents above the 6-1/2 month low hit earlier this week.