March 2, 2006

 

Thursday: China soybean futures settle tad lower on CBOT; corn down

 

 

Most soybean futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled slightly lower Thursday in line with overnight losses in soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

While some speculative long buying drove prices slightly higher in the course of the day, the global spread of bird flu continues to be a major concern of the market, said a Beijing-based analyst.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB8 lower at RMB2,714 a metric tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 56,602 lots from to 62,176 lots Wednesday. One lot equals to 10 tonnes.

 

Open interest for all contracts rose 6,612 lots to 273,304 lots.

 

Soymeal futures settled lower along with soybean futures. The benchmark September 2006 contract fell RMB12 to RMB2,329/tonne.

 

Meanwhile, soyoil futures settled higher, amid a drop in soyoil supplies as soybean crushing continues to slow due to bird flu concerns, analysts said.

 

Longs began to liquidate positions after the benchmark September 2006 contract topped RMB5,300/tonne.

 

It rose RMB25 to settle at RMB5,278/tonne, after trading between RMB5,252/tonne and RMB5,308/tonne.

 

The No. 2 soybean contracts, which are encouraged to be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled mixed.

 

The benchmark September contract fell RMB7 to settle at RMB2,594/tonne.

 

Corn futures settled slightly lower on long liquidation.

 

"It's not only profit-taking now. The bird flu outbreak begins to weigh on corn prices as well," said an analyst based in Beijing.

 

Corn is still mainly used to produce feed for animals in China.

 

The benchmark September 2006 contract settled RMB8 lower to RMB1,457/tonne.

 

Open interest for all contracts fell by 30,990 lots to 818,390 lots.