May 18, 2007

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle down; market awaits cues

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly lower Thursday, as the market waited for more cues to guide trading.

 

The benchmark September 2007 contract settled RMB12 lower at RMB3,222 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume declined to 150,054 lots from 244,072 lots Thursday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

Traders expect the benchmark July soybean contract on Chicago Board of Trade to meet resistance at US$8.00/bushel, while the contract settled unchanged at US$7.92 3/4 Thursday.

 

"If the (July) contract break through the resistant level, domestic soybeans will be strongly supported," said Gu Jianjun, a trader at Jinyuan Futures.

 

But traders said they expect soybeans to rise in the mid-to-long term.

 

Soymeal contracts settled mixed, and soyoil futures settled mostly higher on rising cash prices.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soymeal contract settled RMB5 lower at RMB2,602/tonne, while the benchmark September 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB60 higher at RMB7,340/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled lower, with the benchmark September 2007 contract settling down RMB4 at RMB1,677/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts rose to 279,570 lots from 244,992 lots Thursday.