November 16, 2006
Thursday: China soybean futures settle higher on fresh buying
Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled Up Thursday, supported by fresh long buying, analysts said.
The most active May 2007 contract settled RMB37 higher at RMB2,910 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,862/tonne and RMB2,930/tonne.
Total trading volume rose to 207,618 lots from 122,422 lots Wednesday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.
"(Soybean) futures prices jumped today, mainly due to long buying. Investors built up positions, showing increasing interest in soy futures," said Zhang Yifan, a trader at China Grains & Oils Group Feed Corp.
"Rising (soybean) prices on the spot market this week offered support to futures today, despite overnight losses on the Chicago Board of Trade," said Liu Xinghua, an analyst at Great Wall Futures Co.
Soymeal futures settled up, along with gains in soybean futures. However, gains in soymeal futures were relatively moderate, pressured by short selling witnessed throughout today's session, Zhang said.
The benchmark May 2007 soymeal contract rose RMB16 to settle at RMB2,472/tonne, after trading between RMB2,439/tonne and RMB2,488/tonne.
Total trading volume rose to 313,698 lots from 217,578 lots Wednesday.
"Demand for soymeal, which isn't as strong as that for soybeans, is also weighing on soymeal futures," Liu added.
Soyoil futures settled up, with the most active May 2007 soyoil contract settling RMB61 higher at RMB6,488/tonne.
Corn futures settled higher as well. The benchmark May 2007 contract settled RMB6 higher at RMB1,583/tonne, after trading between RMB1,573/tonne and RMB1,589/tonne.
Total trading volume for corn fell to 974,400 lots from 1,291,604 lots Wednesday.
"Corn prices on the spot market soared this week, particularly in the southern provinces, which was supportive for futures," Zhang said.
"Market sentiment continued to improve, and investors increasingly moved to forward contracts, such as September 2007," he added.
