March 2, 2007

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle down on CBOT, correction likely

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly lower Friday, following declines on the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

The most active September 2007 contract settled RMB37 lower at RMB3,199 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume declined to 178,730 lots from 186,044 lots Thursday. One lot equals 10 tonnes.

 

CBOT soybean futures skidded lower Thursday under pressure from heavy long fund liquidation and a bearish technical picture.

 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off its 2007 Agricultural Outlook Forum Thursday, but no surprising data have been released.

 

Some market participants had been expecting to see some bullish new acreage estimates, and disappointment may have inspired selling, traders said.

 

Domestic soybean futures may consolidate at current levels and face further downward pressure in March, said Zhang Yifan, a trader at China Grains & Oils Group Feed Corp.

 

It is time for a correction after recent gains, he said.

 

Soybean harvesting in South America will also prevent prices from rising, cash traders said.

 

A large amount of soybean is expected to arrive in China from South America in late April.

 

Soymeal and soyoil contracts also settled lower.

 

The most active September soymeal contract settled RMB43 lower at RMB2,686/tonne, while the benchmark May 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB70 lower at RMB6,468/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled lower.

 

The benchmark September corn contract settled RMB11 lower at RMB1,701/tonne.

 

Trading volume for corn contracts totaled 338,740 lots, compared to 549,064 lots Thursday.