January 16, 2009

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher in thin trading volume Friday, tracking gains at the Chicago Board of Trade overnight.

 

The benchmark September 2009 soybean contract gained RMB54, or 1.6%, to settle at RMB3,449/tonne.

 

Soybeans may consolidate in rangebound trading in coming sessions after recent gains, with further pressure to the downside, analysts said.

 

"Soybeans are correcting after rising for a month," said Wang Xiaoguang, an analyst with Galaxy Futures.

 

Wang put nearby support for September soybeans at around RMB3,350/tonne, and tipped nearby resistance at around RMB3,550/tonne.

 

Dry weather in South America remains in focus for market participants, supporting soybean prices, Wang added.

 

However, analysts said with commodities across the board under pressure, soybeans may fall below an earlier bottom in the near term.

 

Weaker crude oil could also pressure soyoil and soybeans. Benchmark light, sweet crude traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 5% overnight and is holding above US$35 a barrel in early European electronic trading

 

Trading volume of all soybean contracts declined to 422,118 lots from 517,034 lots Thursday.

 

Opening interest fell 23,460 lots to 336,426 lots Friday.

 

Corn, soymeal, soyoil and palm oil futures all settled higher.

 

Friday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne for benchmark contracts and the volume for all contracts in lots (One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):

                                                               

Contract        Settlement       Price        Change      Volume

Soybean        Sep 2009        3,449        Up   54      422,118

Corn             May 2009        1,553        Up    3       103,842

Soymeal       May 2009         2,686        Up   63      408,786

Palm Oil        May 2009        5,282        Up   32       125,948

Soyoil           May 2009        6,300        Up   66       202,590