June 16, 2006

 

Friday: China soybean futures settle mostly up on CBOT; corn rises

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Friday, tracking overnight gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract rose RMB5 to settle at RMB2,623 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,619/tonne and RMB2,629/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all soybean contracts rose slightly to 9,232 lots from 8,304 lots Thursday.

 

One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

The benchmark September No. 2 soybean contract, the only contract that was traded Friday, settled RMB7 higher at RMB2,524/tonne.

 

No. 2 soybean contracts are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops.

 

"Shorts were reluctant to build new positions, on fears of weather changes that could drive prices up, while longs were also cautious in an oversupplied market," said a Beijing-based trader.

 

"So prices just moved in a narrow range, and speculators fled to other commodities markets," he said.

 

Meanwhile, analysts expect 3 million tonnes of soybean imports to arrive in June, adding to the 3 million tonnes that arrived in May, which are stockpiled at ports because of thin demand from local crushers.

 

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

 

The benchmark November 2006 contract settled RMB13 higher at RMB2,353/tonne, after trading between RMB2,349/tonne and RMB2,360/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 255,086 lots from 301,662 lots Thursday.

 

Soyoil futures settled mixed. The most active November 2006 soyoil contract rose RMB6 to settle at RMB5,218/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled slightly higher. The benchmark March 2007 contract rose RMB1 to settle at RMB1,476/tonne, after trading between RMB1,469/tonne and RMB1,485/tonne.

 

Total trading volume for all corn contracts fell to 550,966 lots from 553,340 lots Thursday.