COMMODITIES-Soy tumbles pre-USDA report; oil and aluminium down too

* Soybeans down 2 pct ahead of USDA crop report
* Crude oil down as growth worries overwhelm MidEast
tensions
* Aluminium hits month-low as Alcoa cuts demand forecast

By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Soybean prices tumbled on
Wednesday on investor caution ahead of a U.S. government crop
report, and crude oil turned lower as a slowing global economy
offset fears about Middle East conflicts that could squeeze
crude supply.
Gold and copper were little changed with the
U.S. dollar steady against the euro, limiting the upside
in commodities quoted in the greenback. Aluminium fell to
a one-month low as major producer Alcoa posted a
third-quarter loss and cut its demand forecast.
The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global
benchmark for commodities, fell 0.7 percent, dragged down by
losses in 9 of its 19 components. Aluminium fell 2.2 percent
while four other markets -- nickel, sugar, cocoa and soybeans --
lost about 2 percent each.
"We expect prices to likely work lower over the days ahead
based on technicals alone, although the fundamental backdrop
does not leave too much to get excited about either," Edward
Meir, analyst at Intl Fc Stone, wrote in a commentary about
aluminium and other base metals.

SHARPEST SOYBEAN FALL IN WEEK
Soybean futures in Chicago fell by 1.7 percent -- the
sharpest decline in a week -- ahead of a key monthly
supply-demand report from U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
report is expected to raise the size of the U.S. crop and may
close the door on the drought rally that began in June.
"We're seeing some selling before the (USDA) reports
tomorrow - people are getting prepared," said Jack Scoville,
vice president and senior analyst at The Price Group brokerage
in Chicago.
The front-month contract in Chicago soybeans fell
27-1/2 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $15.22-1/2 a bushel.
Soybeans have lost about 15 percent of their value since
hitting a record high of $17.94-3/4 last month, with analysts
expecting the USDA to show a rebounding crop after plentiful
rains in August and September. The record high was reached on
the back of the worst drought in five decades that decimated
crops in the U.S. Midwest.
In crude oil, London's Brent closed at $114.33 a
barrel, down 0.2 percent. Trading was choppy as players balanced
worries over the security of Middle East oil supplies with
slowing economic growth that was expected to curb petroleum
demand.
New York-traded U.S. crude settled at $91.25 a
barrel, down 1.2 percent.
After climbing through the better part of the third quarter,
oil markets have turned volatile.
While the euro zone debt crisis and slowing China growth
pressures prices, shelling along the Turkey-Syria border,
hostility between Iran and the West and an impending Israeli
election have raised fears about Gulf oil supplies that have
been supportive to the market.
"It's not that Syria and Turkey are significant oil
exporters but Iraqi crude from the northern part of Iraq
(Kirkuk) flows via pipeline through Turkey to Ceyhan," said
Dominick Chirichella, an energy analyst at New York's Energy
Management Institute.
Turkey's military chief of staff said on Wednesday his
troops would respond with greater force if bombardments from
Syria kept hitting Turkish territory.
Aluminium closed at $2,009 a tonne in London, down
$56 from Tuesday. During the session, it slipped to as low as
$2,006.25, marking a new bottom since Sept 7.
Analysts said the fall was fuelled by Alcoa's announcement
it had slashed its 2012 aluminium demand growth estimate by 1
percentage point to 6 percent.
"Alcoa seems to blame weak Chinese demand for the current
development but I see it differently. I think it's not the
demand in China which is depressing prices but the developments
on the production side," said Eugen Weinberg, a commodity
analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"Chinese aluminium production increased by about 10 percent
in the first 8 months of the year and elsewhere demand only fell
by about 2 percent. This is not enough, there is a huge
oversupply at the moment."

Prices at 3:33 p.m. EDT (1933 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US crude 91.37 -1.02 -1.1% -7.5%
Brent crude 114.30 -0.20 -0.2% 6.4%
Natural gas 3.475 0.008 0.2% 16.3%

US gold 1765.10 0.10 0.0% 12.7%
Gold 1762.49 -1.16 -0.1% 12.7%
US Copper 371.80 0.00 0.0% 8.2%
LME Copper 8165.00 20.00 0.2% 7.4%
Dollar 79.925 -0.026 0.0% -0.3%

US corn 737.75 -4.50 -0.6% 14.1%
US soybeans 1549.25 -26.75 -1.7% 29.3%
US wheat 881.00 5.25 0.6% 35.0%

US Coffee 163.45 -1.85 -1.1% -28.4%
US Cocoa 2372.00 -45.00 -1.9% 12.5%
US Sugar 21.26 -0.21 -1.0% -8.5%

US silver 34.109 0.124 0.4% 22.2%
US platinum 1678.50 -14.90 -0.9% 19.5%
US palladium 649.90 -8.30 -1.3% -1.0%