May 17, 2006

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle up on other markets

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Wednesday, as investors took cues from other commodities which pared losses in the previous session, traders said.

 

"It's a technical rebound amid the gains of other commodities, such as copper and rubber, but profit taking prevented further gains," said Ding Haijiang, an analyst with Nanhua Futures Co.

 

"Yesterday's loss was pressured by other commodities, and once the outside market improved, soybeans benefited," he said.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB10 higher at RMB2,659 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,651/tonne and RMB2,668/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all soybean contracts fell to 26,782 lots from 66,838 lots Tuesday.

 

One lot is equal to 10 tonnes.

 

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

 

The benchmark September contract rose RMB6 to settle at RMB2,546/tonne.

 

"Most investors were waiting on the sidelines, being cautious about the volatile market," Ding said.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures settled higher, in step with soybean futures.

 

The benchmark November 2006 soymeal contract rose RMB10 to settle at RMB2,369/tonne, after trading between RMB2,359/tonne and RMB2,378/tonne.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract settled RMB47 higher at RMB5,219/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled mostly higher, with some long position holders rolling positions to March 2007 contract, said analysts.

 

Corn fundamentals are much better than soybean's, so most investors are still optimistic, especially in the long run, analysts said.

 

The most widely held January 2007 contract settled RMB4 higher at RMB1,468/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts fell slightly to 712,082 lots from 837,784 lots Tuesday.