May 6, 2008
Tuesday: China soybean futures settle up in tandem with CBOT gains
China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Tuesday, supported by concurrent gains of counterparts during electronic trading at the Chicago Board of Trade.
The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled up RMB46, or 1.1%, at RMB4,145 a metric tonne after trading between RMB4,083-4,182/tonne.
Soymeal demand has been picking up, helping to support soybean prices, said Dong Shuangwei, an analyst at Capital Futures.
The rise in crude oil also supports soybeans, limiting any downside potential.
But soybean contracts are likely to trade in a limited range in the coming days as the record high of more than RMB5,000/tonne isn't in sight, a person with a local feedmeal trading firm said.
Low soymeal stocks and increasing demand from the feedmeal sector will play a bigger role in pushing soybean prices higher, analysts said.
China's economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, reiterated Tuesday a guarantee of adequate supplies and price stability in the domestic grain market on ample state reserves and measures to curb exports.
The Commerce Ministry issued a statement earlier this week urging the importation of major commodities that are in short supply, especially edible oil.
Palm oil and soyoil futures settled mostly higher, tracking solid gains in crude oil, which may strongly support late-month contracts, analysts said.
Soymeal futures settled higher, but corn futures settled lower.
Tuesday'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 4,145 Up 46 632,016
Corn Jan 2009 1,968 Dn 8 425,390
Soymeal Sep 2008 3,442 Up 56 401,408
Palm Oil Sep 2008 10,290 Up 100 50,094
Soyoil Sep 2008 10,906 Up 80 237,620
