CHICAGO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. soybean processing pace in August likely slowed from the prior month as some crushers idled facilities for seasonal maintenance ahead of the Midwest harvest, analysts said ahead of a monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report due on Thursday.

NOPA members, which handle about 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, were estimated to have crushed 166.110 million bushels of soybeans last month, according to the average of estimates from nine analysts.

If realized, the crush would be down 2.4% from the 170.220 million bushels that NOPA members processed in July but up 4.6% from the August 2021 crush of 158.843 million bushels. It would also be the second largest August crush on record, behind only 2019.

However, the estimated daily processing rate of 5.358 million bushels would be the slowest since last September.

Estimates for the August 2022 crush ranged from 162.500 million to 171.500 million bushels, with a median of 166.500 million bushels.

The monthly NOPA report is scheduled for release at 11 a.m. CDT (1600 GMT) on Thursday. NOPA releases crush data on the 15th of each month, or the next business day.

Soyoil supplies held by NOPA members as of Aug. 31 was projected to have dropped for a sixth straight month to 1.658 billion pounds, a 13-month low, according to the average of estimates gathered from six analysts.

If realized, the soyoil stocks would be down 1.5% from 1.684 billion pounds at the end of July and down 0.6% from the 1.668 billion pounds held by NOPA members at the end of August 2021.

Soyoil stocks estimates ranged from 1.575 billion to 1.800 billion pounds, with a median of 1.649 billion pounds. (Reporting by Karl Plume; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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