May 16, 2008

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle up on continued Argentina strike

 

 

China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Friday after Argentine farmers said overnight that they will extend their strike.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB35 higher at RMB4,499 a metric tonne, or up 0.84%.

 

Soybean contracts on the DCE opened lower in response to profit taking overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade, but rose later.

 

Argentine farmers' groups said Thursday that they will continue their strike until at least next Wednesday, when they will consider their next move. However, both farmers and the government appeared to be maintaining hardline positions on the central issue of an export tax the farmers want scrapped.

 

China bought five-six cargoes of soybeans from U.S. and Brazil this week, up from three-five cargoes last week, according to data from Shanghai JCI Friday.

 

The soybeans bought this week will be delivered in June and July, said an analyst from the grain consultancy firm.

 

Planting is 93% complete in China's main soybean producing province of Heilongjiang, an official from the province's agricultural committee said Friday.

 

Farmers in the province intend to cultivate 3.8 million hectares of soybean this year, up 7.6% from the 3.53 million hectares they planted last year, the unnamed official said, citing data from an earlier survey.

 

Meanwhile, planting of corn in Heilongjiang, also a major corn producing province, has been completed in what could be 3.47 million hectares, according to the survey of farmers' intentions, the official said. The planned corn acreage in the province would be around the same level as last year.

 

Palm oil futures settled lower and soyoil futures settled mixed on pressures of ample stocks of edible oil at processing plants.

 

Trading volume in palm oil at Chinese ports was light on pressure from stocks, Tianqi Futures said in a report.

 

Soymeal futures settled higher and corn futures settled little changed.

 

Friday'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            4,499           Up  35            828,604

Corn                  Jan 2009           1,943            Dn   1            317,378

Soymeal           Sep 2008            3,624           Up  28            335,686

Palm Oil            Sep 2008          10,610           Dn  16             43,354

Soyoil               Sep 2008          11,298           Dn  28            363,700