May 23, 2006

 

Tuesday: China soybean futures settle up on tech rebound; corn up

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Tuesday on a technical rebound, with the recovery of other local commodities lending some support, analysts said.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB12 higher at RMB2,641 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,631 and RMB2,647/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all soybean contracts fell to 16,512 lots from 33,578 lots Monday. One lot equals 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 RMB17 to settle at RMB2,565/tonne.

 

"Soybeans were supported by the recovery of most of the other local commodities, besides the need for a technical rebound," said Lin Hui, an analyst with China International Futures Co.

 

"If copper and oil can remain relatively stable at their current levels, it will be good news for soybeans. Otherwise, soybeans' gains are likely to be erased," Lin said.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures settled mostly higher, in line with soybean futures.

 

The benchmark November 2006 soymeal contract gained RMB8 to settle at RMB2,323/tonne, after trading between RMB2,315 and RMB2,332/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 233,486 lots from 349,832 lots Monday.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract settled RMB3 higher at RMB5,178/tonne.

 

Meanwhile, although soymeal demand has been picking up in some places, a large volume of soybean imports from previously concluded contracts is still putting a lot of pressure on the market, said analysts.

 

Corn futures settled higher on fresh buying, underpinned by rising prices in the spot market, analysts said.

 

The benchmark March 2007 contract rose RMB11 to settle at RMB1,502/tonne, after trading between RMB1,496 and RMB1,505/tonne.