March 31, 2008
Monday: China soybean futures settle down; USDA planting report awaited
China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Monday, awaiting a planting report to be issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB93 lower, or down 2.2%, at RMB4,086 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB4,052/tonne and RMB4,117/tonne.
Despite the tumble of their counterparts at Chicago Board of Trade Friday, declines were mitigated by rising soybean prices on e-CBOT Monday.
The domestic fall could be very limited as prices of agricultural products are far below the fundamentals, a manager at a state grain and oils reserves house said, adding the planting report to be issued by USDA tonneight is likely to be neutral to the market.
The USDA is scheduled to release its 2008 U.S. prospective planting and quarterly grain stocks report at 1230 GMT Monday.
There is a lot uncertainty regarding U.S. soybean acreage and unit yield, which will help to support market prices, analysts said.
Some analysts said if the CBOT hit bottom in March and begins to consolidate higher in April, it will test new highs later this year.
Palm oil , soyoil and soymeal futures settled lower as corn futures settled higher.
There is talk that big grain and oil traders, including COFCO Ltd., have been buying vegetable oil at current low prices, which would imply a bullish outlook for the oilseeds market in the longer run.
Monday'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 4,086 Dn 93 1,188,900
Corn Sep 2008 1,790 Up 17 1,048,122
Soymeal Sep 2008 3,217 Dn 35 256,002
Palm Oil May 2008 10,386 Dn132 56,244
Soyoil Sep 2008 10,742 Dn 52 629,844
