February 2, 2007

 

Friday: China soybean futures up on CBOT; corn down on warmer weather

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly higher Friday, following a rise on the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

The most active September 2007 contract settled up RMB14 at RMB3,130 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume rose to 308,582 lots versus 181,624 lots Thursday. One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes.

 

CBOT soybean futures closed modestly firmer overnight after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Thursday that weekly U.S. soybean export sales for the week ended Jan. 25 were 677,700 tonnes, above analysts' expectations of 450,000-650,000 tonnes.

 

The volume of sales was 10% higher compared with a week earlier and 3% above the prior four-week average.

 

Major buyers of U.S. soybeans included China, which took 177,200 tonnes.

 

"Mid- to long-term funds entered the market on expectations that China's demand will continue to support U.S. soybean prices," said Li Panfeng, an analyst at Beite Futures Co.

 

However, the rise may be limited ahead of the week-long Spring Festival holiday. Funds usually withdraw from the market to avoid possible risks caused by fluctuations in the U.S. market, said another analyst in Beijing.

 

Soyoil futures settled up; most soymeal futures ended higher.

 

The benchmark May 2007 soyoil contract settled RMB14 higher at RMB6,520/tonne.

 

The most active September soymeal contract settled up RMB6 at RMB2,587/tonne.

 

However, corn futures settled lower. With the weather turning warmer, making it difficult to maintain a high level of corn stocks, some farmers are entering the market on the offer, said Li.

 

The benchmark September contract fell RMB6 at RMB1,710/tonne.

 

Trading volume for corn contracts totaled 405,968 lots compared with 487,282 lots Thursday.