Updates with U.S. trading, updates headline, byline, dateline, recasts with new analyst commentary

By Renee Hickman

CHICAGO, July 21 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean prices fell Tuesday on profit-taking after Monday's multi-month peak, as better-than-expected U.S. crop ratings weighed on prices, analysts said.

Wheat eased after climbing last week on Russian and Ukrainian attacks on grain ships and ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The most active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) gave up 7-1/4 cents to $12.19 a bushel at 10:45 a.m. CDT (1545 GMT). Most active corn Cv1 dropped 1/2 cent to $4.72-1/2 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 fell 4 cents to $6.72-3/4 a bushel.

Soybeans dropped as traders engaged in profit-taking on Tuesday after a surge to multi-month highs the previous session, according to Karl Setzer, co-founder of Consus Ag Consulting. Monday's rally was driven by strong demand and renewed fighting in the Middle East.

Corn was mixed early in the session but then began to edge back up in a choppy trade.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday kept condition ratings for the nation's corn and soybean crops mostly steady from the previous week, surpassing analyst expectations in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts and adding pressure to futures.

The agency pegged condition ratings for the U.S. corn crop at 67%, one percentage point below the previous week's rating. Analysts had expected a rating of 66%.

For soybeans, the agency said that 66% of the U.S. crop is in good-to-excellent condition, up a percentage point from the previous week and above analyst expectations.

Russian wheat export prices surged last week owing to difficult shipping conditions in the Black Sea and a new wave of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, analysts said on Monday, but futures fell back slightly during Tuesday's session.

The Sovecon agriculture consultancy on Tuesday cut its forecast for Russia's wheat crop this year to 88.3 million metric tons, down from 88.9 million tons, citing weaker prospects in the south of the country and a smaller spring wheat area.