September 12, 2007

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle up; more gains on CBOT expected

 

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Wednesday on follow-through speculative buying amid a positive outlook for Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soybean contract settled up RMB9 at RMB4,008 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB3,991 and RMB4,032/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 613,170 lots from 703,410 lots Tuesday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

"The overall bullish sentiment in agricultural products attracted fresh money inflows in the late session, which drove prices into positive territory," said an analyst with a trading house in Beijing.

 

With some CBOT wheat futures contracts hitting all-time highs during the day, investors foresee further gains in soybeans due to a spillover effect, he added.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures settled a tad lower.

 

The benchmark May 2008 soymeal contract settled down RMB16 at RMB3,133/tonne. The most active May 2008 soyoil contract settled RMB74 lower at RMB8,178/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled higher. Speculators cited gains in cash values in some regions, a strong indication of feed demand, as the reason behind the rise in prices, said analysts.

 

However, "prices are not expected to rise much countrywide, as the new harvest is arriving around early October," said Wang Shiliang, a trader at Jilin Grains Center.

 

The benchmark May 2008 contract rose RMB2 to settle at RMB1,671/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all corn contracts rose to 624,504 lots from 594,174 lots Tuesday.