February 24, 2006
Friday: China soybean futures settle higher; corn mixed
Soybean futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Friday as long buying slightly outpaced long liquidation, traders said.
A strong rebound by soyoil futures pulled up soybean and soymeal, amid a rally of other local commodities such as fuel oil futures, analysts said.
The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB15 higher at RMB2,729 a metric tonne.
Total trading volume shrank to 68,652 lots from 76,702 lots Thursday. One lot equals 10 tonnes.
Soyoil futures settled higher, with the benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract up RMB68 at RMB5,182/tonne, after trading between RMB5,112/tonne and RMB5,236/tonne.
Open interest for all contracts rose by 5,424 lots to 48,312 lots.
Physical soyoil prices are around RMB5,350/tonne, and that's why we see new long buying in the session, said Ding Haijing, an analyst with Nanhua Futures Co.
Ding said that as crushers produce less soymeal, fearing more outbreaks of bird flu, soyoil supply was also reduced.
Meanwhile, soymeal futures settled higher on slight long buying on expectations of higher demand for feed in March, when poultry farms begin to feed young birds, analyst said.
The benchmark September 2006 soymeal contract settled RMB20 higher at RMB2,360/tonne, after trading between RMB2,344/tonne and RMB2,372/tonne.
Dalian's No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled higher.
The benchmark September 2006 No. 2 soybean contract rose RMB8 to settle at RMB2,592/tonne.
Corn futures settled mixed, with the benchmark September 2006 contract rising RMB1 to settle at RMB1,482/tonne, after trading in a narrow range.
Analysts said that although Thursday's auction in Jilin posted an average price of RMB1,206/tonne - even higher than the new corn - a cautious sentiment has prevailed, as there is yet any quota issued for corn exports from March onwards.
