April 5, 2007

Thursday: China soybean futures settle almost unchanged; consolidation seen

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled little changed Thursday, with long liquidation triggered by overnight losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures weighing on prices.

 

The benchmark September 2007 contract fell RMB4 to settle at RMB3,258 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB3,250/tonne and RMB3,270/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 161,774 lots from 247,026 lots Wednesday. One lot equals 10 tonnes.

 

"DCE soybean futures are already a bit higher than CBOT soybean. They lack the momentum to rise further, but at the same time they're not likely to fall much, given the fundamental support," a trader in Beijing said.

 

Analysts said soybean futures will likely consolidate for a while, although weather forecasts will likely add volatility.

 

Dalian's soymeal and soyoil futures also settled little changed.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soymeal contract fell RMB8 to settle at RMB2,649/tonne.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB6 lower at RMB6,868/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled little changed. The benchmark September 2007 contract rose RMB4 to settle at RMB1,673/tonne, after trading between RMB1,670/tonne and RMB1,6777/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all contracts fell to 179,360 lots from 203,664 lots Wednesday.

 

Analysts said with domestic cash values still much lower than front month contract prices, along with higher acreage and output estimates, corn futures could see further downside in the coming month.