May 25, 2007

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle up on CBOT gains; limited stocks

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Friday, following overnight gains on the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soybean contract settled RMB3 higher at RMB3,252 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume rose to 376,088 lots from 192,148 lots Thursday. One lot equals 10 tonnes.

 

CBOT soybean futures ended higher Thursday, continuing their technical uptrend, with weather concerns over lack of rain and spillover strength from soyoil underpinning features.

 

Soybean futures were also supported by rising domestic cash prices as farmers have few stocks on hand, said Ma Mingwang, an analyst at Tianqi Futures.

 

Soymeal contracts settled lower, but soyoil futures settled higher.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soymeal contract settled RMB19 lower at RMB2,619/tonne, while the benchmark September 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB196 higher at RMB7,576/tonne.

 

The combination of higher prices for Malaysian palm oil futures and bullish longer-term prospects for global vegetable oil demand supported soyoil contracts.

 

China's demand for soyoil and palm oil remained strong.

 

The General Administration of Customs said Friday that China imported 2.65 million tonnes of soybean, 211,233 tonnes of soyoil, and 435,783 tonnes of palm oil in April, up 3.2%, 65% and 25% on year, respectively.

 

Corn futures settled lower, with the benchmark September 2007 contract RMB4 lower at RMB1,671/tonne.

 

Corn exports in April rose sharply to a total 578,553 tonnes in April, according to the Customs data.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts declined to 153,638 lots from 292,968 lots Thursday.