March 26, 2008

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle higher on CBOT's strong gains

 

 

China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Wednesday, following gains on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB64 higher, or 1.5%, at 4,294 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB4,262/tonne and RMB4,348/tonne.

 

Dollar weakness helped the recovery in commodities as investors sought a hedge against inflation.

 

The domestic market is watching CBOT closely, and the fundamentals of tight supply haven't changed, said analysts.

 

A farmer strike in Argentina provided some support to soybean prices as importers turned to the U.S. for soybeans.

 

The market is likely to rise amid consolidation in the coming one or two months, with a big surge in either direction unlikely, said an analyst at China National Grain and Oils Information Center.

 

Tight supply in 2008 and the South American soybean harvest will prevent a large one-way move in prices, he added.

 

Palm oil futures, soyoil futures and soymeal futures settled higher while corn futures settled little changed.

 

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

 

               Contract    Settlement   Price  Change   Volume

Soybean  Jan 2009      4,294         Up     64       1,138,702

Corn        Sep 2008     1,778         Up     3         680,920

Soymeal  Sep 2008     3,329         Up     47        371,468

Palm Oil   May 2008    10,578         Up   286       61,110

Soyoil     Sep 2008     11,074         Up   182       608,816