December 26, 2005
Monday: China soybean futures settle mixed, trading thins
Soybean futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mixed Monday amid sharply thinner trading, because overseas markets remained closed for Christmas, traders said.
The benchmark May 2006 soybean contract settled RMB2 lower at RMB2,753 a metric tonne after trading between RMB2,743/tonne and RMB2,759/tonne.
Total trading volume for soybean futures on the Dalian exchange dropped to 102,242 lots from 226,914 lots Friday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.
"As the overseas markets are closed for Christmas, the local market remained inactive, without any stimulation or fresh fundamentals," said Dong Liang, an analyst with Shanghai Jiuheng Futures Brokerage.
"The market will probably move in a very narrow range through to New Year's Day, provided nothing significant happens," Dong said.
Most soymeal futures settled slightly higher, with the benchmark May 2006 contract RMB3 higher at RMB2,376/metric tonne after trading between RMB2,361/tonne and RMB2,383/tonne.
Meanwhile, the total trading volume for soymeal futures declined sharply to 396,974 lots, compared with 644,102 lots Friday and 928,892 lots Thursday.
"Today's market adopted a wait-and-see attitude, but technically, it's likely that the price of the benchmark may breach the resistance at RMB 2,400 within this week," said Li Honglei, an analyst with Nanhua Futures Trading.
"And if that is the case, it may be able to climb to RMB2,550," Li added.
Dalian's No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled mixed yet again.
The most heavily traded September 2006 No. 2 soybean contract settled RMB3 lower at RMB2,756/tonne, after trading between RMB2,744/tonne and RMB2,765/tonne.
Corn futures traded on the exchange settled mostly higher.
The most widely held September 2006 contract rose RMB15 to settle at RMB1,371/tonne, after trading between RMB1,355/tonne and RMB1,384/tonne.
