May 5, 2009

China's soy futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Tuesday after a recent surge, taking cues from outside markets.

 

The benchmark January 2010 soy contract settled RMB46 a metric tonne lower at RMB3,482/tonne, or down 1.3%.

 

Weakness in other commodities, from metals to grains, pressured soy prices, analysts said. A stronger dollar in electronic trading put pressure on commodities, they added.

 

"Weaker domestic soy (futures) also indirectly reflected the ample supply of imported soys," said Xu Wenjie, an analyst with Tianma Futures.

 

While forecast reduced output of soys in South America is supportive of prices, China has been importing large volumes of U.S. soys so far this year, building inventories. Domestic prices have been relatively higher-priced, supported by government purchasing plans.

 

Higher crude oil prices overnight pushed edible oil prices higher, despite the overall weakness.

 

Trading volume of all soy contracts declined to 228,870 lots from 370,548 lots Monday.

 

Open interest rose by 13,500 lots to 316,456 lots Tuesday.

 

Corn and soymeal futures settled lower, while soyoil and palm oil futures settled higher.

 

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

 

Contract        Settlement       Price        Change       Volume

Soy               Jan 2010         3,482        Dn   46       228,870

Corn             Sep 2009         1,662        Dn    8         67,514

Soymeal        Sep 2009         2,812        Dn   25    1,135,740

Palm Oil         Sep 2009         6,662        Up   82       533,438

Soyoil            Sep 2009         7,384        Up   54    1,119,854