(Fixes typo in headline)
    * Soymeal extends slide as August options expire
    * Many buyers stay on sidelines after sharp drop in prices
    * China buys U.S. soy, and unknown destinations buy corn

    By Tom Polansek
    CHICAGO, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean meal futures fell
sharply again on Friday amid waning demand for the livestock
feed, while soybeans touched a one-year low.
    Soymeal tumbled more than $17 per short ton for the session,
after closing down the daily, $20 trading limit for the past two
days.
    End-users are reducing purchases of expensive old-crop
	

		

			
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soybeans, which are crushed to make meal, given the prospects
for a record-large U.S. harvest and cheaper prices. Technical
selling ahead of the expiration of August options contracts on
Friday added pressure to prices, traders said. 
    "The relief is that we've got the August meal off of limit
down and its trading," said Paul Georgy, president of Allendale.
    Chicago Board of Trade August soymeal dropped $17.50
to $430.30 per short tonne. The contract has lost nearly 11
percent this week and is down 17 percent from a contract high of
$521 that was reached on Monday.
    August soybeans slipped 5-1/2 cents to $13.49-3/4 a
bushel. The contract pared losses after falling in early trading
to $13.30-1/2, the lowest for a front-month contract since June
2012.
    September wheat rose 1 cent to $6.50-1/4 a bushel
after matching a contract low of $6.48 in earlier trading.
    "Much of this is simple short covering ahead of the weekend,
especially after the losses we have seen this week," said Karl
Setzer, grain solutions team leader for MaxYield Cooperative. 
    September corn closed down 4 cents to $4.92 a bushel
after falling to a new contract low of $4.90. New-crop December
corn fell 2-3/4 cents to $4.76 and reached its lowest
level in more than 2-1/2 years.
	

		

			
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    The sell-off in corn and soy has pushed some buyers to the
sidelines as they are waiting to see whether prices decline
more, traders said.
    China, the world's top soy importer, stepped in to buy
220,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, the Agriculture Department said
on Friday. Private exporters struck deals to sell 211,328 tonnes
of U.S. corn to unknown destinations. 
    The sales were "largely routine and not entirely unexpected"
given this week's free fall, said Rich Feltes, vice president of
research for R.J. O'Brien.    
    It will be difficult for corn to stage a sharp recovery
because favourable weather is fueling forecasts for a
record-large U.S. harvest, traders said. Farmers who have
old-crop corn left from previous harvests will sell the grain if
prices rise, they said.
    Corn and soy futures have been pressured by declining spot
basis bids across the U.S. Midwest this week. Bids continued
their setback from historically high levels on Friday due to
weakening demand, dealers said. 
    Ethanol plants, corn and soybean processors were said to
have bought enough supplies in recent days to meet needs for all
or part of August. The level of coverage led the buyers to
reduce bids sharply, sparking declines in bids at elevators and
terminals along Midwest rivers. 
	

		

			
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 Prices at 4:57 p.m. CDT (2157 GMT)      
                              LAST      NET    PCT     YTD
                                        CHG    CHG     CHG
 CBOT corn                  492.00    -4.00  -0.8%  -29.5%
 CBOT soy                  1349.75    -5.50  -0.4%   -4.9%
 CBOT meal                  430.30   -17.50  -3.9%    2.3%
 CBOT soyoil                 43.58    -0.23  -0.5%  -11.4%
 CBOT wheat                 650.25     1.00   0.2%  -16.4%
 CBOT rice                 1588.50    14.00   0.9%    6.9%
 EU wheat                   188.00    -0.50  -0.3%  -24.9%
 
 US crude                   104.49    -0.79  -0.8%   13.8%
 Dow Jones                  15,559        3   0.0%   18.7%
 Gold                      1333.29     0.00   0.0%  -20.4%
 Euro/dollar                1.3277  -0.0001   0.0%    0.6%
 Dollar Index              81.6560  -0.3140  -0.4%    2.4%
 Baltic Freight               1082      -10  -0.9%   54.8%
 
 (Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen
Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Keiron Henderson, Sofina
Mirza-Reid and David Gregorio)