Tuesday: China soybean futures settle down; following CBOT weakness
China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Tuesday, following declines on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight.
The benchmark January 2009 soybean contracts settled RMB62 lower at RMB4,982 a metric tonne, or down 1.2%, after trading between a narrow range of RMB4,951-RMB5,007/tonne.
DCE soybean prices consolidated in negative territory during the entire session, under pressure from improved weather conditions in U.S. growing areas.
Meanwhile, CBOT counterparts failed to break through earlier highs, and that triggered profit-taking.
However, the drop in prices was due to a technical correction, and CBOT soybeans remain on an upward trend, so investors in China should keep their long positions in domestic markets, Tianqi Futures said in a note.
Cash domestic soybean prices in major producing regions rose on strong soymeal prices.
Soyoil futures and palm oil futures settled sharply lower.
Edible oil prices were under pressure from the decline in crude oil prices and sluggish cash demand.
Analysts said that while soyoil cash prices have risen due to bad weather in the U.S. Midwest, they are unlikely to rise much further as investors are taking profit on traditionally weak seasonal consumption.
The harvest of rapeseed will also continue to pressure the market, they said.
Soymeal futures and corn futures settled mostly lower.
Tuesday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and volume for all contracts in lots (One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):
Contract Settlement Price Change Volume
Soybean Jan 2009 4,982 Dn 62 523,532
Corn Jan 2009 1,909 Dn 14 335,836
Soymeal Sep 2008 4,168 Dn 1 499,056
Palm Oil Sep 2008 10,862 Dn 268 24,470
Soyoil Sep 2008 11,914 Dn 392 232,044
