Specs sell longs in CBOT wheat, soy as prices drop

* Drop in soy, wheat prices prompts spec selling*

 Noncoms also trim corn long stake amid acreage view

* Cut in soy holdings comes after 3 weeks of gains
 (Adds background, price moves, index fund data)

 CHICAGO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Large speculators cut their net
long stakes in Chicago Board of Trade soybean, wheat and corn
futures, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed on Friday.

 The spec selling in wheat came as prices fell 3.9 percent
after approaching two-year highs and raising concerns that U.S.
wheat was priced too high to compete on the export market.

 Cancellation of export deals for U.S. soybeans sparked a
4.6 percent decline in soybean futures during the five trading
days ended Feb. 15.

 The noncommercial traders sold 20,654 long soybean
contracts and added 9,964 shorts, leaving them with a net long
position of 127,934 contracts as of the close of trade on Feb.
15, the CFTC's Commitments of Traders report showed.

 In CBOT corn, large speculators cut 12,466 longs and added
4,171 shorts while selling off 9,859 longs in CBOT wheat and
adding 1,484 short contracts.

 The noncommercials trimmed their long position in CBOT corn
for the second week in a row. But the reduction in the net long
stake in soybeans came after three straight weeks of gains.

 Index funds, which typically buy and hold positions for
long periods, trimmed their net long position in corn and wheat
by piling on short contracts.

 In CBOT corn, the index traders added 14,529 short
contracts and sold off 800 longs, leaving them with a net long
stake of 376,972 contracts.

 Index funds added 5,344 shorts to their position in CBOT
wheat while picking up 2,411 long contracts, leaving them net
long 205,724.

 In CBOT soybeans, index funds were net long 174,303
contracts after cutting 5,025 longs and adding 1,933 shorts.
 (Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN1810680920110218)