January 2, 2008
Wednesday: China soybean futures settle mixed; grain export curbs felt
Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mixed Wednesday, pressured by the government's measures to curb grain exports.
However, rising soybean cash prices and record high edible oil prices helped to support the market.
The benchmark September 2008 soybean contract settled RMB6 higher at RMB4,692 a metric tonne.
China set export quotas on some grain flour made from wheat, corn and rice from Jan. 1, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
The move aims to stabilize domestic grain prices and guarantee grain security after a recent surge in international prices, it said.
The move, along with other recent measures including new taxes on grain exports in 2008 and the cancellation of export tax rebates for some grains, comes after China's consumer price index growth reached an 11-year high of 6.9% in November, driven by food-price inflation of 18.2%.
Analysts said domestic supply and demand will be key issues in deciding grain prices this year, and government policies will only help to delay price increases.
Expectations of a shortage in edible oil in the longer run pushed soybean prices in northeast China's major producing regions higher Wednesday.
Domestic soyoil cash prices surged more than RMB1,000/tonne last week from a week earlier due to strong demand ahead of the Chinese New Year in early February.
Palm oil futures settled mixed, soyoil and soymeal futures settled mostly higher while corn futures settled lower.
Wednesday's settlement prices are in yuan a metric tonne and volume for all contracts is in lots (one lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):
Contract Settlement Price Change Volume
Soybean Sep 2008 4,692 Up 6 683,932
Corn May 2008 1,682 Dn 13 359,832
Soymeal Sep 2008 3,401 Up 12 587,082
Palm Oil May 2008 9,288 Dn 66 25,132
Soyoil May 2008 10,472 Up 82 146,540
