January 16, 2006

 

Monday: China soybean futures settle mostly up on short covering

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Monday on short-covering following Friday's losses, traders said.

 

Trading in soybean futures was sluggish, as many investors diverted their attention to volatile metals futures being traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

 

A trader who used to be actively involved in soybean futures trading said investors were less attracted now to soybean futures.

 

There haven't been many transactions in soybean futures since the start of the year and the illiquid market is causing speculative investors to stay away from soybean futures, said a Zhejiang-based trader.

 

The benchmark May 2006 contract rose RMB26 a metric tonne to settle at RMB2,679/tonne, after trading between RMB2,669/tonne and RMB2,688/tonne.

 

Trading volume in Dalian soybean futures market fell to 156,656 lots from 229,194 lots Friday.

 

One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

Trading of the No. 2 soybean contracts, which can be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetic-modified crops, settled mostly unchanged.

 

The only contract that rose was the most heavily traded September 2006 contract, which added RMB16/tonne to RMB2,637/tonne, after trading between RMB2,631/tonne and RMB2,646/tonne.

 

Soyoil futures settled mostly higher on bargain hunting following substantial losses Friday.

 

The benchmark September 2006 contract settled RMB7 higher at RMB5,051/tonne, after trading between RMB5,038/tonne and RMB5,076/tonne.

 

Total trading volume of soyoil futures rose to 78,454 lots from 66,860 lots Thursday.

 

Soymeal futures traded on the Dalian exchange, meanwhile, settled higher on bargain hunting.

 

The benchmark May 2006 soymeal contract gained RMB23/tonne to RMB2,324/tonne, after trading between RMB2,312/tonne and RMB2,334/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled mostly higher on light speculative buying.

 

The most heavily traded September 2006 contract rose RMB12/tonne to settle at RMB1,379/tonne, after trading between RMB1,373/tonne and RMB1,388/tonne.

 

China's futures trading is off-limits to foreign investors.