* Markets down for day but end week higher
    * Some weather forecasts scale back Midwest heat, dryness
    * Corn market shrugs off U.S. corn sale to China
    * Fireworks in CBOT July corn, soybeans at expiration
    * Wheat dragged lower by declines in corn and soybeans

 (Updates prices)
    By Tom Polansek and Julie Ingwersen
    CHICAGO, July 12 (Reuters) - New-crop U.S. soybean and corn
futures sank on Friday as updated weather forecasts scaled back
the threat of hot and dry weather in the Corn Belt and traders
took profits following recent gains.
    Nearby July contracts expired after gyrating in extremely
	

		

			
ADVERTISEMENT
			
				
	

	

			
	
	
volatile trading.
    At the Chicago Board of Trade, November soybeans,
representing the crop that will be harvested in the autumn,
settled down 33-1/2 cents at $12.57-1/4 a bushel, after hitting
a three-week top of $12.97.
    The lower close followed a four-day rally, leaving the
contract with a weekly rise of 2.4 percent.
    "I think you're just seeing people get out of here prior to
the weekend," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading,
referring to the profit-taking.
    Earlier this week, the markets jumped as some forecasters
began warning about the risk of hot and dry weather, especially
in the southwestern portion of the Corn Belt.
    A lack of rainfall is expected to stress crops into late
July in portions of the western U.S. Midwest, said Andy Karst,
meteorologist for World Weather Inc. However, a lack of extreme
heat will cushion the blow on crops, he said. 
    Updated midday forecasting models, including the closely
watched Global Forecast System (GFS) released by the U.S.
National Weather Service, looked more crop-friendly.
    "The GFS went overboard on being very wet, including in the
southwestern Corn Belt. The 11-15 day (period) was cooler also.
That got some attention," said Dan Cekander, analyst with
	

		

			
ADVERTISEMENT
			
				
	

	

			
	
	
Newedge USA in Chicago.
    CBOT December corn ended down 17-3/4 cents at
$5.09-1/4 a bushel but posted a weekly gain of 3.7 percent.   
    The absence of a threat from high temperatures is "making it
difficult for the market to continue with its apparent weather
scare rally," said Anne Frick, senior oilseeds analyst for
Jefferies Bache.
    Trading was volatile in nearby contracts ahead of the
expiration of front-month July futures at 12:01 p.m. CDT (1701
GMT). 
    July soybeans traded in a massive 75-cent range, from
$15.34-1/2 to $16.10, before settling at $15.63-1/4.
    And a single 5,000-bushel contract of July corn traded
at $8 a bushel, the highest spot corn price in 10 months, before
the contract settled at $7.01-1/2. 
    
    MASSIVE CORN SALE
    Traders shrugged off the announcement of the eighth-largest
sale of U.S. corn on USDA records. Private exporters reported
the sale of 960,000 tonnes of U.S. corn to China for delivery
during the new marketing year, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. 
    Rumors of the sales helped boost prices earlier in the week,
and some traders sold on confirmation of the business from the
USDA, according to analysts.
	

		

			
ADVERTISEMENT
			
				
	

	

			
	
	
    Reuters reported on Thursday that China's Sinograin bought
more than 1 million tonnes of U.S. new-crop corn for shipment in
the 2013/14 year. 
    The purchase follows huge wheat imports earlier this month
when Sinograin bought more than 1.3 million tonnes of U.S. wheat
after the domestic wheat harvest had been damaged by bad
weather. 
    The USDA, in a monthly supply/demand report on Thursday, 
forecast China's wheat imports at 8.5 million tonnes in 2013/14,
up 5 million tonnes on the month and up from 3.2 million in
2012/13. 
    The department lowered its forecast for 2013/14 U.S. wheat
ending stocks to 576 million bushels from its June projection of
659 million and below the average analyst estimate of 632
million.
    However, CBOT wheat ended lower on Friday, halting a
four-day rise as corn and soybeans tumbled.
    July wheat settled down 3-3/4 cents at $6.75-1/2 per
bushel, while most-active September wheat ended down 2
cents at $6.81.
    
 Prices at 2:04 p.m. CDT (1904 GMT)      
                              LAST      NET    PCT     YTD
                                        CHG    CHG     CHG
 CBOT corn                  545.50   -15.25  -2.7%  -21.9%
 CBOT soy                  1429.00   -43.00  -2.9%    0.7%
 CBOT meal                  442.90   -15.10  -3.3%    5.3%
 CBOT soyoil                 46.22    -0.31  -0.7%   -6.0%
 CBOT wheat                 681.00    -2.00  -0.3%  -12.5%
 CBOT rice                 1520.50   -17.50  -1.1%    2.3%
 EU wheat                   197.75    -1.50  -0.8%  -21.0%
 
 US crude                   106.00     1.09   1.0%   15.4%
 Dow Jones                  15,422      -39  -0.3%   17.7%
 Gold                      1281.76    -2.93  -0.2%  -23.4%
 Euro/dollar                1.3062  -0.0035  -0.2%   -1.0%
 Dollar Index              82.9880   0.2420   0.3%    4.0%
 Baltic Freight               1149       10   0.9%   64.4%
 
 (Additional reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Nigel Hunt
in London, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Michael Hogan in
Hamburg; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)