January 20, 2006

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle mostly up; speculative buying

 

 

China's Dalian Commodity Exchange soybean futures settled mostly higher Friday, thanks to light speculative buying which took cues from U.S. soybean prices, traders said.

 

With soybean futures traded on the Chicago Board of Trade showing signs of stabilizing after falling Thursday, speculative investors began buying local contracts tentatively.

 

But gains in Dalian soybean futures were capped by a lack of fresh buying later in the day, as some long position holders attempted to liquidate their holdings ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in late January.

 

The benchmark May 2006 soybean contract rose RMB9 to settle at RMB2,653 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,641 and RMB2,661/tonne.

 

Total trading volume for soybean futures declined to 118,088 lots from 121,886 lots Thursday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

The No. 2 soybean contracts, which can be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled lower on speculative short selling.

 

The benchmark September 2006 contract fell RMB3 to RMB2,570/tonne, after trading between RMB2,558 and RMB2,575/tonne.

 

Soyoil futures settled higher as speculators bought on concerns domestic soyoil consumption may rise during the Lunar New Year holiday.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract gained RMB39 to settle at RMB5,108/tonne, after trading between RMB5,060 and RMB5,148/tonne.

 

Dalian's soymeal futures settled mostly higher on speculative buying, tracking soybean futures.

 

The benchmark May 2006 soymeal contract rose RMB10 to settle at RMB2,278/tonne after trading between RMB2,266 and RMB2,288/tonne.

 

Corn futures traded on the exchange settled mostly higher on bargain hunting after prices fell earlier this week.

 

The most heavily traded September 2006 contract rose RMB6 to settle at RMB1,379/tonne, after trading between RMB1,373 and RMB1,384/tonne.