May 12, 2006

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle up due to CBOT; corn mixed

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Friday on overnight gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures, although pre-weekend profit-taking trimmed gains.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB12 higher at RMB2,695 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,669/tonne and RMB2,709/tonne.

 

Overall trading volume rose to 76,470 lots from 74,858 lots Thursday.

 

One lot equals to 10 tonnes.

 

No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled mostly higher.

 

The benchmark September contract rose RMB26 to settle at RMB2,575/tonne.

 

"Relatively strong gains in the week resulted in profit-taking by cautious investors today, especially considering the USDA report is coming tonneight," said Lin Hui, an analyst with China International Futures Co.

 

Falling copper prices in the afternoon is another factor prompting long liquidation in soy futures, she added.

 

"We are closely watching CBOT for further direction at this point; after all, local feed demand hasn't seen significant increase," Lin said.

 

Soymeal futures settled mostly higher. The benchmark November 2006 contract rose RMB11 to settle at RMB2,419/tonne, after trading between RMB2,388/tonne and RMB2,448/tonne.

 

Soyoil futures settled mostly up. The benchmark September 2006 contract rose RMB45 to settle at RMB5,278/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled mixed, with profit-taking, along with soy futures, wiping off much of the gains in the early morning session, said analysts.

 

The benchmark January 2007 contract settled RMB3 higher at RMB1,477/tonne, after trading between RMB1,463/tonne and RMB1,490/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts fell to 718,286 lots from 875,006 lots Thursday.