August 29, 2007

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle up on rising soymeal prices

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Wednesday, supported by rising soymeal prices.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soybean contract settled RMB6 higher at RMB3,682 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume declined to 250,750 lots from 374,198 lots Tuesday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

The recovery in the feedmeal sector has pushed soymeal prices higher. Soymeal prices in the coastal areas reached RMB2,800-2,920/tonne in coastal areas recently, compared with around RMB2,300/tonne in June.

 

The high prices have weakened market demand for soymeal and the market is likely to be balanced soon, said Shanghai JCI, a grain consultancy firm.

 

It expected soymeal prices to fall slightly after the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays, which will last from late September until early October.

 

Soymeal futures settled higher but soyoil futures settled lower.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soymeal contract settled RMB30 higher at RMB2,951/tonne, and the benchmark January 2008 soyoil contract settled RMB76 lower at RMB7,972/tonne.

 

The rapid development of the biofuel sector will drive up the demand for vegetable oils, which will in turn push prices of soybean and soy products higher, said Dalu Futures.

 

Corn futures settled higher.

 

The benchmark May 2008 contract settled RMB14 higher at RMB1,616/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts declined to 560,552 lots from 661,804 lots Tuesday.