January 13, 2007

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle lower tracking CBOT losses

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower for the second day in a row Wednesday, tracking overnight losses in Chicago Board of Trade grains futures.

 

CBOT grains futures have fallen this week largely on concerns that funds with significant long positions in grains such as corn, wheat and soybeans may start liquidating those positions.

 

In Dalian, the mostly widely held May 2007 contract settled RMB10 lower at RMB2,814 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,800/tonne and RMB2,835/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 74,386 lots from 76,430 lots Tuesday.

 

One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

As a result of weaker CBOT soybean futures, China's soybean imports are likely to rise in the next few weeks. Many traders can be expected to book for fresh soybean shipments at the current low prices.

 

Soymeal futures settled mostly lower, along with soybean futures. The benchmark May 2007 soymeal contract fell RMB10 to settle at RMB2,317/tonne, after trading between RMB2,305/tonne and RMB2,330/tonne.

 

Soyoil futures settled mixed, with the benchmark May 2007 soyoil contract RMB10 higher at RMB6,582/tonne.

 

Dalian's corn futures settled mostly lower, tracking similar losses in CBOT corn futures. The most active September 2007 contract fell RMB4 to settle at RMB1,666/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts fell to 699,110 lots from 859,456 lots Tuesday.