March 20, 2008

 

Thursday: China soybean futures settle sharply lower, tracking CBOT

 

 

Soy futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled sharply lower Thursday on a plunge in Chicago Board of Trade soy futures overnight.

 

Soybean, soymeal and soyoil contracts mostly opened 4% limit-down but were off lows in the late session as analysts said higher cash values lent support.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract fell RMB146 to settle at RMB4,089 a metric tonne.

 

"Charts show CBOT soy futures have further downside, but firm domestic cash prices are likely to lend support to futures prices," said Dong Liang, an analyst at Shanghai Jiuheng Futures.

 

"As (domestic futures) prices are mostly near the lows in late January, further downside might be limited, and we've entered a consolidatory period," Dong said.

 

Corn futures settled lower on spillover weakness in soy futures.

 

Analysts said for agricultural commodities, market participants are eyeing an upcoming acreage forecast by the U.S. Department of Agricultural, which should determine near-term direction.

 

"The volatility in commodities has resulted in panic buying or selling since the beginning of the year, which is likely to continue for a while," said an analyst.

 

"This sets the tonnee for consolidation, which is needed for both agricultural commodities and metals," he added.

 

Thursday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and volume for all contracts in lots:

 

                Contract       Price      Change     Volume

Soybeans  Jan 2009      4,089      Dn 146    917,188

Soymeal   Sep 2008      3,204      Dn 130    317,350

Soyoil       Sep 2008     10,568      Dn 222    169,336

Corn         Sep 2008      1,765      Dn  14  2,119,742

Palm Oil    May 2008      9,852      Dn 328      8,564