June 15, 2007

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle mixed; await CBOT for guidance

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mixed Friday, as market participants await developments at the Chicago Board of Trade tonight to guide their trading next week.

 

The benchmark January 2008 soybean contract settled RMB3 higher at RMB3,283 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume declined to 143,746 lots from 250,378 lots Thursday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

"The domestic market is likely to correct (its recent fall) as it has deviated from the CBOT too much," said Gao Yanrong, a trader at Dalu Futures Co.

 

Domestic soybean futures have been under downward pressure in the past few trading sessions on ample supply and concerns of government control of agricultural product prices.

 

The government has repeatedly expressed concerns about surging agricultural product prices, which contributed to the 3.4% consumer price index rise in May, the fastest growth in over two years.

 

Soymeal futures settled mostly lower, while soyoil futures settled mostly higher.

 

The benchmark September 2007 soymeal contract settled RMB11 lower at RMB2,481/tonne, while the benchmark September 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB18 higher at RMB7,618/tonne.

 

China's soyoil imports rose strongly in May, reflecting increasing demand for edible oils.

 

The country imported 1.05 million tonnes of soyoil in the first five months of this year, up 50% from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said Friday.

 

It imported 260,000 metric tonnes of soyoil in May alone, almost 16 times the 16,580 tonnes imported during the same period last year.

 

Corn futures settled lower.

 

The benchmark September 2007 contract settled RMB7 lower at RMB1,626/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts rose to 280,130 lots from 219,996 lots Thursday.