April 11, 2006
Tuesday: China soybean futures settle lower on CBOT; corn down
Soybean futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled slightly lower Tuesday, with nearby commodities lending some support, analysts said.
The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB6 lower at RMB2,581 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,566/tonne and RMB2,598/tonne.
Trading volume for all soybean contracts rose to 81,570 lots from 47,920 lots Monday.
One lot equals 10 tonnes.
No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled mixed.
The benchmark September contract rose RMB6 to settle at RMB2,483/tonne.
Local soybean futures opened lower on overnight CBOT soybean losses, but short-covering, combined with bargain hunting, drove up the prices a little, analysts said.
"If it were not the strong gains of nearby commodities, soybeans would have even bigger losses," said Gao Yanrong, an analyst with Dalu Futures Co.
Meanwhile, although soymeal demand is picking up slightly, prices are heavily pressured by cheap imports, Gao said.
"Now is the time for shorts," he said.
Soymeal futures settled mixed.
The benchmark September 2006 soymeal contract settled unchanged at RMB2,188/tonne, after trading between RMB2,170/tonne and RMB2,203/tonne.
The total trading volume for soymeal futures rose to 315,380 lots from 185,334 lots Monday.
Soyoil futures settled mostly up, with the benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract settling at RMB5,023/tonne, up RMB20.
Corn futures settled lower on long liquidation, combined with light short selling, analysts said.
"The outlook for local corn futures prices are clouded by soybeans," Gao said.
Industry players are talking about the government's release of an export quota, but as there's no official information, corn prices are also pressured by the over-supply, analysts said.
The most widely held September 2006 contract settled RMB17 lower RMB1,373/tonne, after trading between RMB1,365/tonne and RMB1,386/tonne.
