July 25, 2006
Tuesday: China soybean futures settle higher on CBOT gains, metals
Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Tuesday, following overnight gains on the Chicago Board of Trade and stronger metal futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
The benchmark September contract settled RMB4 higher at RMB2,441 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,433/tonne and RMB2,454/tonne.
Total trading volume fell to 23,138 lots from 35,540 lots Monday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.
"In addition to CBOT gains, metal futures rises also lent support to soybean futures," said Liu Xinghua, an analyst at Great Wall Futures Co.
"The rebound was moderate as soybean's fundamentals remain unchanged. A large volume of import arrivals is still stockpiled at the ports, contributing to the overstocked situation," Liu added.
No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled higher.
The benchmark September contract settled at RMB2,479/tonne, up RMB6.
Soymeal futures settled higher. The benchmark November 2006 soymeal contract rose RMB18 to settle at RMB2,239/tonne, after trading between RMB2,234/tonne and RMB2,245/tonne.
Total trading volume for all soymeal contracts dropped to 212,614 lots from 291,862 lots Monday.
"Soymeal futures rebounded in line with soybean futures. However, stronger gains are not expected as demand for soymeal has not recovered," said Liu.
Soyoil futures settled mostly lower. The most active September 2006 soyoil contract dropped RMB11 to settle at RMB5,307/tonne.
"Soyoil futures prices fell on profit-taking," Liu added.
Corn futures settled lower. The most widely held March 2007 contract settled at RMB1,383/tonne, up RMB1.
"Corn futures rose in the morning session and dropped afterwards, showing that speculators are not optimistic about corn," Liu said.
Total trading volume for corn fell to 254,762 lots from 555,978 lots Monday.
