December 11, 2007
Tuesday: China soybean futures settle mostly up on eecord CBOT highs
Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Tuesday after their counterparts on the Chicago Board of Trade set new contract highs overnight.
The benchmark September 2008 soybean contract settled RMB35 higher at 4,457 a metric tonne.
Total trading volume declined to 883,496 lots from 935,496 lots Monday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.
Analysts said the market has gradually digested the government's tightening policies, and the strong CBOT performance has boosted prices in the domestic market.
"The unclear U.S. economic outlook, pressured by the subprime crisis, suggests the bull market for commodities will continue," as it will prompt investors to shift their focus to commodities, said Xiao Jun, an analyst at Shanghai JCI, a grain consultancy firm.
He added the CBOT benchmark soybean contract will be supported around $11 per bushel by high wheat and soymeal prices, a result of strong demand and reduced output.
China Tuesday sold 238,100 tonnes of corn from its state reserves, or about 48% of the 500,000 tonnes it planned to sell.
Shen Wei, a manager at COFCO Maize Co., said the auction won't have much impact on corn prices, as the volume is not large, while chances of a downturn in corn prices are limited as the government needs to fill its corn reserves once prices head lower.
Palm oil futures, soyoil futures, soymeal futures and corn futures all settled higher.
Tuesday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and the volume for all contracts in lots:
Contract Settlement Price Change Volume
Soybeans Sep 2008 4,457 Up 35 883,496
Palm Oil May 2008 8,542 Up 24 23,356
Soyoil May 2008 9,528 Up 76 101,406
Soymeal May 2008 3,432 Up 51 1,641,724
Corn May 2008 1,749 Up 6 439,658
