July 4, 2007

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle down on CBOT, low feedmeal demand

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses at the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

The benchmark January 2008 soybean contract settled RMB32 lower at RMB3,279 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume declined to 154,660 lots from 184,942 lots Tuesday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

CBOT soybeans fell on pre-holiday position squaring and profit-taking after Friday and Monday's sharp rises.

 

The market will be closed Wednesday in observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

 

Sluggish demand from China's livestock breeding sector put pressure on feedmeal prices, including soybeans and corn, said analysts.

 

It takes months for feedmeal demand to recover, said Wang Xiaohui, head of the market monitoring department under the China National Grains and Oil Information Center.

 

Soymeal futures settled mostly lower and soyoil futures settled mostly higher.

 

The benchmark January 2008 soymeal contract settled RMB40 lower at RMB2,604/tonne, while the benchmark September 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB14 higher at RMB7,882/tonne.

 

Processing plants raise soyoil prices to cover losses from falling soymeal prices, said Xu Wenjie, a trader at Tianma Futures Co.

 

Corn futures settled lower.

 

The benchmark January 2008 contract settled RMB17 lower at RMB1,552/tonne.

 

Chinese corn cash prices will likely fall before the September harvest on the prospect of new supply and sluggish demand, said Wang.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts rose to 687,098 lots from 312,328 lots Tuesday.