August 30, 2007

 

Thursday: China soybean futures settle up on CBOT gains, output concerns

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled up Thursday, following gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures overnight, and amid expectations of lower Chinese output, analysts said.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soybean contract settled RMB43 higher at RMB3,725 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB3,700/tonne and RMB3,746/tonne.

 

Total trading volume rose to 355,448 lots from 250,750 lots Wednesday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

"Smaller acreage and the drought will likely result in a total domestic output of less than 15 million tonnes this year," said Li Honglei, an analyst with Nanhua Futures Co.

 

More imports mean CBOT futures are likely to have a bigger impact on domestic prices, he said.

 

"Domestic soybean prices will likely exceed the record high seen in 2003 at RMB4,100 this year," Li said.

 

In terms of cost, high freight fees also provide strong support to soybean prices, said Zhang Yifan, a trader with China Grains & Oils Group Feed Corp.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures settled higher, along with gains in soybean futures.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soymeal contract settled RMB48 higher at RMB2,999/tonne. The benchmark January 2008 soyoil contract settled RMB66 higher at RMB8,038/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled mostly up a tad, but were weighed down slightly by the high domestic inventory level, analysts said.

 

The benchmark May 2008 contract settled RMB7 higher at RMB1,623/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts rose to 617,160 lots from 560,552 lots Wednesday.