June 30, 2008

 

Monday: China soybean futures settle mixed ahead of USDA report

 

 

China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mixed Monday ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's planting report to be released tonight.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB4 higher at RMB5,123 a metric tonne, up 0.1%, after trading in the RMB5,105-RMB5,148/tonne range.

 

The old crop September 2008 contracts settled RMB16 lower at RMB5,818/tonne.

 

The USDA is expected to report a modest decrease in soybean seedings from its March prospective plantings report, with soybean stocks as of June 1 reflecting solid third-quarter usage. Its reports are scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) Monday.

 

Analysts said the market participants are staying on sidelines, awaiting the report.

 

Many investment funds have been actively cutting their long positions in recent trading sessions due to concerns the soybean prices are too high, said Xu Yan, an analyst at China International Futures Co.

 

He added soybean meal prices also face downward pressure after the recent jump as soy meal users will likely seek other meal substitutes.

 

Soybean oil, palm oil, soy meal and corn futures settled higher.

 

Monday'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           5,123          Up   4            413,906

Corn                Jan 2009           1,935          Up   8            704,736

Soymeal           Jan 2009           4,103          Up   2            781,878

Palm Oil           Sep 2008          10,752         Up   2              39,478

Soyoil              Sep 2008          11,862         Up  74            166,984