ANALYSIS-Soy price dive no indication bull market over

By Sam Nelson

CHICAGO, March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures have tumbled nearly 16 percent in two weeks as cash-strapped hedge funds bailed out after the market hit record highs, but analysts said on Monday the bull run had some steam left.

Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade have tumbled about 20 percent since Feb. 27 and corn has slipped 5 percent since last week. Both markets bounced back on Monday, but soybean futures fell further, with soyoil futures also down sharply.

"I think everybody knows there has been a very, very large net long position in grains and there is a bout of profit-taking here," said Dan Cekander, analyst for Newedge Trading.

CBOT grain and soy complex futures markets raced to record highs in late February and early March as investment funds kept buying the market, increasing the amount of net long holdings to what some were calling "the breaking point."

"You reached a lot of objectives with a $5.50 corn number and $15 plus beans...so I think a lot of people are just taking a breather here," Cekander said.

On Feb. 27, tight global stocks of wheat and forecasts for the lightest wheat carryout from last year in the United States drove the Chicago wheat futures market to a record high of over $13 per bushel for a spot contract.

Since then, the wheat market has plunged more than 20 percent. The corn market has shed roughly 7 percent from its record high of just over $5.50 per bushel set in early March.

"The bean market is just going through what we went through a few weeks ago," a CBOT wheat trader said.