CHICAGO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. soybean crush in August likely increased from the same month last year, although scattered seasonal maintenance downtime continued to limit the processing pace, analysts said ahead of a monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report due on Friday.

NOPA members, which handle about 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, were estimated to have crushed 167.802 million bushels last month, according to the average of estimates from 10 analysts.

If realized, the August crush would be down 3.2% from the 173.303 million bushels processed in July but up 1.4% from the August 2022 crush of 165.538 million bushels. It would also be the second-largest August crush on record, behind only 2019, when NOPA members processed 168.085 million bushels.

The estimate implies a daily crush rate of 5.593 million bushels, which would be up slightly from 5.590 million bushels a day in July.

The crush is typically near its lowest point of the year in August as processors idle plants for seasonal maintenance ahead of the autumn harvest and as supplies of soybeans from the prior season's harvest are drawn down.

Estimates for the August 2023 crush ranged from 161.280 million to 171.000 million bushels, with a median of 167.968 million bushels.

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

Soyoil supplies held by NOPA members as of Aug. 30 were forecast at 1.483 billion pounds, based on estimates from eight analysts.

Soyoil stocks at the end of July totaled 1.527 billion pounds, while stocks at the end of August 2022 were 1.565 billion pounds.

Soyoil stocks estimates ranged from 1.425 billion to 1.525 billion pounds, with a median of 1.489 billion pounds. (Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Mark Porter)