CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended mostly
 lower Wednesday, quietly succumbing to scale-down speculative selling after
 private weather forecasters added rain and decreased heat threats in their
 extended weather outlooks released at midday, traders said. 
  
   August soybeans ended 2 1/4 cents lower at $6.73 3/4 a bushel, November
 soybeans ended 2 1/2 cents lower at $6.86 1/2, August soymeal settled $0.10
 higher at $213.50 a short ton, and August soyoil ended 12 points lower at 24.31
 cents a pound. 
  
   The market essentially took a breather from the volatile action of recent
 sessions, awaiting a clearer picture of next week's weather, with Tuesday's
 beneficial rains dampening bullish enthusiasm, trade sources said. 
  
   Futures took on a choppy two-sided theme for most of the day, with
 conflicting extended weather forecasts providing support, while beneficial
 rains moving through the driest areas of the soybean belt Tuesday and technical
 weakness kept a lid on upside potential. 
  
   Weather remains the dominant influence on future price direction, with
 traders and analysts grappling at the potential size of the 2005 crop amid a
 tight projected 2005-06 balance sheet that leaves little room for production
 losses. The rains added a new twist to the soybean market, as analysts factor
 in the benefits of the moisture on a crop headed into its critical stage of
 development, said a CBOT commission house broker. 
  
   Otherwise, futures had few influences aside from the weather, with export
 demand at a seasonal lull and resistance at the November contract's 50-day
 moving average at $6.94 keeping prices chopping around in range-bound trade for
 most of the day. 
  
   On tap for Thursday, U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to release its monthly
 soybean crush report at 7 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT). Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones
 expect a crush figure near 132 million bushels. Also, the U.S. Department of
 Agriculture is scheduled to release its weekly export sales report at 7:30 a.m.
 CDT (1230 GMT). Analysts anticipate commitments in the range of 75,000 to
 150,000 metric tons. 
  
   In pit trades, Cargill Investor Services and Fimat each bought 300 November,
 with ABN Amro, Man Financial, Rand Financial and Rosenthal light buyers. 
  
   On the sell side, Calyon Financial sold 500 November, and Rand Financial and
 Refco each sold 300 November. Commodity funds were estimated sellers of 1,000
 contracts. 
  
  
    Soy Products 
  
  
   Soymeal futures ended marginally higher, trading an inside day on technical
 charts, with futures following the lead of the choppy tone in the soybean
 market. Soyoil futures ended modestly lower, continuing to loose ground to
 soymeal as the market consolidates from recent volatile activity. Soyoil
 chopped around on both sides of unchanged levels, settling into a range amid
 the absence of fresh fundamental news, traders said. 
  
   Analysts anticipate soymeal stocks near 290,000 short tons and soyoil stocks
 near 1.800 billion pounds in Thursday's Census Bureau crush report. Traders
 anticipate export commitments in the range of 30,000 to 70,000 tons for soymeal
 and zero to 6,000 tons for soyoil in Thursday's USDA sales report. 
  
   August oil share ended at 36.28%, and the August crush finished at 63 1/4
 cents. 
  
   In soymeal trades, Rand Financial and Refco bought 200 December, and Cargill
 Investor Services, Citigroup, and Tenco were each light buyers. Bunge Chicago,
 Cargill, Merrill Lynch, Prudential Financial and Refco were light early
 sellers. 
  
   In soyoil trades, Citigroup and Calyon Financial each bought 200 December,
 Man Financial bought 600 December, and Refco bought 300 August, with Cargill
 selling 300 December.