* New-crop corn, soy ease; old-crop contracts jump
    * Weather in U.S. Midwest favorable for crop development
    * Goldman cuts corn, soybean price forecasts

 (Updates U.S. market activity to close, adds quotes)
    By Michael Hirtzer
    CHICAGO, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures settled at
the lowest level in more than two months on Friday as harvest
advanced in the southern Plains while new-crop corn and soybean
futures eased on ideal growing conditions for the young crops.
    Farmers were gathering hard red winter wheat in Texas and
Oklahoma, with harvest likely to begin soon in the top growing
	

		

			
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state of Kansas.
    "Cutting is now in full swing from north Texas to the Kansas
border," said Mark Hodges, director of the farmers group Plains
Grains Inc.
    The increasing supply weighed on futures, with Chicago Board
of Trade July wheat easing 4-3/4 cents to $6.80-3/4 per
bushel, the lowest settlement since April 2. Wheat shed 2.3
percent for the week for the largest weekly decline since the
week ending on April 26.
    Kansas City Board of Trade July wheat, the contract
that reflects harvest of the HRW wheat crop, fell 7 cents to
$7.11-3/4 per bushel, the lowest closing price in a year.
    "Wheat was down all day on anticipation of weekend harvest
and perceptions of bigger world crops without an ensuing bigger
demand," said Charlie Sernatinger, analyst at EDF Man Capital.
    Investors and users of the grain were eager to see the
quality of the Plains crop after ongoing drought in the region
stressed wheat plants.
    "When you have damaged wheat and a crop that's been through
a lot of problems, you don't know what you've got until you
actually harvest," said Sterling Smith, a market strategist at
Citigroup.
    "This weakness in the market may be indicative that the
	

		

			
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perception of the crop was worse than what we are actually
harvesting." 
    In the U.S. Corn Belt, growing conditions have turned ideal
after record rains early this spring led to the slowest corn and
soybean plantings in 17 years. The extended forecast shows
occasional showers and warm temperatures, which should speed
crop growth, agricultural meteorologists said.
    "Less extensive showers are expected by the third week of
June, which will allow late plantings to resume and there is
adequate moisture for crops," said Joel Widenor, meteorologist
for Commodity Weather Group. "High temperatures will be in the
upper 70s (Fahrenheit) to near 90 F, aiding growth rates."
    The good weather weighed on new-crop corn and soybean
contracts even as the tightest stockpiles in at least nine years
bolstered spot contracts in a bull-spreading bounce.
    Front-month CBOT July corn surged 1.8 percent, or
11-1/2 cents, to $6.55 per bushel, boosted by strong cash
markets, while CBOT July soybeans gained 5-1/2 cents to
$15.16-1/2.
    Still, corn lost nearly 2 percent for the week for the first
weekly decline in a month. Soybeans eased 0.8 percent for the
week, snapping a streak of six straight weeks of higher prices. 
  
    Basis bids for spot barge loads of corn shipped to the U.S.
	

		

			
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Gulf Coast surged to their highest-ever springtime level as
short-bought exporters scrambled for near-term grain shipments,
but supplies remained extremely tight. 
    The gains in the nearby futures contracts helped limit
pressure on new-crop contracts from good growing conditions. 
    Corn for December delivery eased 4-1/4 cents to $5.31
while CBOT November soybeans edged 1/2 cent lower to
$13.00.
    "Things are looking good for corn now as the planting is
almost complete and weather forecasts look favorable for
boosting yields," said Joyce Liu, an investment analyst at
Phillip Futures in Singapore.  
    
    RECORD PRODUCTION
    The corn market is also continuing to face pressure from
estimates of record U.S. production. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture in its monthly demand-and-supply report on Wednesday
estimated the corn crop at 14.005 billion bushels, a billion
bushels larger than the record set in 2009.
    Bumper crops would be a dramatic rebound from three years in
a row of falling corn and soybean production, tightening stocks
and sky-high prices. Corn stocks are headed to reach the lowest
level in 17 years in 2012/13, with supplies set to be razor-thin
until harvesting starts in the autumn.
    Goldman Sachs, in a report issued late Thursday, lowered its
three-, six- and 12-month forecasts for corn and soybean prices
for 2013 on an expected recovery in production and inventory.
 
    "We currently view the downside potential to agriculture
prices as the largest opportunity across the commodity markets
we cover," the investment bank said.
    
 Prices at 2:53 p.m. CDT (1953 GMT)      
                              LAST      NET    PCT     YTD
                                        CHG    CHG     CHG
 CBOT corn                  655.00    11.50   1.8%   -6.2%
 CBOT soy                  1516.50     5.25   0.4%    6.9%
 CBOT meal                  450.70    -1.90  -0.4%    7.2%
 CBOT soyoil                 48.48     0.64   1.3%   -1.4%
 CBOT wheat                 680.75    -4.75  -0.7%  -12.5%
 CBOT rice                 1650.50    -6.00  -0.4%   11.1%
 EU wheat                   196.25    -1.50  -0.8%  -21.6%
 
 US crude                    97.80     1.11   1.2%    6.5%
 Dow Jones                  15,076     -100  -0.7%   15.0%
 Gold                      1389.79     4.35   0.3%  -17.0%
 Euro/dollar                1.3345  -0.0028  -0.2%    1.1%
 Dollar Index              80.6500  -0.1020  -0.1%    1.1%
 Baltic Freight                900       27   3.1%   28.8%
 
 (Additional reporting by Sam Nelson in Chicago, Carey Gillam in
Kansas City, Nigel Hunt and David Brough in London, and Naveen
Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and Kenneth Barry)