Corn eases on harvest pressure, soybeans level

US corn futures fell 1.2 percent on Friday as the Midwest harvest progressed at a record pace and after private forecaster Informa Economics raised its yield and production estimates for the drought-hit 2012 US crop.

Soybean futures finished unchanged as support from solid demand, including China buying 180,000 tonnes, faded amid pressure from a record-fast US harvest and as Informa raised its US soy crop outlook midmorning.

Wheat dropped 1.4 percent, pressured by lower corn and as beneficial rains this week in the US Plains wheat belt were seen boosting winter crop planting. Wheat notched its steepest weekly decline in four months.

Trading was choppy as investors squared positions before the weekend and ahead of next week's monthly US Department of Agriculture crop production report.

Informa Economics said on Friday it expects USDA to raise its US corn production forecast to 11.194 billion bushels, based on a yield of 127.0 bushels per acre. Soybean production was seen at 2.86 billion bushels, based on a yield of 37.8 bushels per acre.

The firm previously forecast the corn crop at 11.093 billion bushels, yielding 126.6 bushels per acre, and a soy crop of 2.663 billion bushels with yields at 35.2 bushels.

It was the latest private forecast suggesting crop damage from the worst US drought since 1956 was not as bad as feared, particularly the soybean crop, which was revived by timely August rains.

Commodity brokerage INTL FCStone also raised its corn and soybean forecasts this week as harvest reports topped expectations.