GRAINS-Soybean futures fall on profit-taking after rally

* Profit-taking drags down soybeans following surge Thursday
* Record-large U.S. harvest outlook keeps pressure on corn
* Corn losses weigh on other markets

(Updates with closing prices, NOPA estimates)
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures sank on
Friday as traders took profits following a surge in prices the
previous day, while corn futures sagged from a
larger-than-expected U.S. harvest outlook.
Wheat futures also traded lower.
The decline in soybeans was an about-face from Thursday,
when the new-crop November contract climbed 2.8 percent
after a monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report

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projected soy stocks at 150 million bushels, down from an August
estimate of 220 million. Traders, on average, expected 165
million.
The lower-than-expected forecast for stocks at the end of
the crop year on Aug. 31, 2014 rattled traders because it was
only up 25 million bushels from a nine-year low last year.
"A little profit taking ahead of the weekend after the big
run-up yesterday would not be out of line," said Tomm
Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans slid 14-1/2 cents,
or 1 percent, to $13.81-1/2 a bushel after peaking at $14.00,
the highest price for the contract since early last week.
It will be difficult for soybean futures to fall too much
because of lingering nervousness about low supplies, traders
said.
The National Oilseed Processors Association's monthly
soybean crush data next week should show the U.S. crush for

August at 110.7 million bushels, down 4.9 percent from July and
the smallest since September 2011, a Reuters poll of nine
analysts showed.
Old-crop U.S. soybeans were in short supply in August
because of strong demand earlier in the marketing year.
The size of the upcoming harvest, which is needed to
replenish inventories, is uncertain following a stretch of hot,
dry weather in August, the critical growth period for the U.S.
soy crop. The United States is the world's top producer and
exporter of the oilseed.
Cool temperatures and rain will hit key growing areas in the
western U.S. Midwest this weekend but will arrive too late to
benefit most of the soon-to-be harvested crops, according to MDA
Weather Services.

HARVEST PRESSURES PRICES
Farmers in the southern United States have already started
harvesting corn, putting pressure on prices.
December corn slid 7-1/4 cents, or 1.6 percent, to

$4.59 a bushel at the CBOT. December wheat tumbled 11-1/2
cents, or 1.8 percent, to $6.41-1/2.
"Harvest pressure is increasing on a daily basis as more and
more producers are opening up fields and uncovering high yield
potential for corn," said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest
Market Solutions.
The USDA, in the crop report on Thursday, raised its U.S.
corn production estimate 0.6 percent to a record 13.843 billion
bushels, topping analyst estimates by nearly 2 percent. The
increase was a surprise following last month's stressful weather
conditions.
"Corn is a drag on everything," said Dan Cekander of Newedge
USA. "I think the fear will be that the corn yield gets bigger."
Traders are waiting for the USDA's Farm Service Agency to
release updated data on Tuesday that shows the number of acres
that farmers were unable to plant last spring. The data is
expected to provide further clues about the size of the
harvests.

Prices at 3:25 p.m. CDT (2025 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD

CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 459.00 -7.25 -1.6% -34.3%
CBOT soy 1381.50 -14.50 -1.0% -2.6%
CBOT meal 496.20 15.30 3.2% 18.0%
CBOT soyoil 42.22 -0.47 -1.1% -14.1%
CBOT wheat 641.50 -11.50 -1.8% -17.5%
CBOT rice 1614.50 54.00 3.5% 8.6%
EU wheat 186.00 -0.75 -0.4% -25.7%

US crude 108.51 -0.09 -0.1% 18.2%
Dow Jones 15,376 75 0.5% 17.3%
Gold 1324.01 3.82 0.3% -20.9%
Euro/dollar 1.3299 0.0002 0.0% 0.8%
Dollar Index 81.4890 0.0060 0.0% 2.2%
Baltic Freight 1636 15 0.9% 134.0%

(Additional reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Nigel Hunt
in London and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by William
Hardy, Marguerita Choy and Diane Craft)