March 18, 2005

 

Friday: China Soybean Futures End Sharply Down; Late-session Selling

 

 

Most soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled sharply lower Friday due to active selling late in the session, but analysts said the fall didn't reverse a recent uptrend.

 

The benchmark September 2005 soybean contract in Dalian fell RMB61/ton to settle at RMB3,143/ton, after trading between RMB3,076 and RMB3,220/ton.

 

Trading volume for soybean futures in Dalian totaled 741,828 lots, up from Thursday's 511,396 lots. One lot equals to 10 tons.

 

No. 2 soybean contracts, which can be delivered with soybeans harvested from genetically modified crops, settled mostly lower. The benchmark May 2005 No. 2 contract ended down RMB10/ton at RMB3,075/ton, after trading between RMB2,962 and RMB3,143/ton.

 

Trading volume for No. 2 soybeans totaled 6,342 lots, down from 6,684 lots Thursday.

 

"We don't know the reason for the sudden fall across the board... maybe speculation," said a trader in Dalian. "But the momentum behind the recent rally won't subside easily."

 

Soymeal futures contracts in Dalian ended limit-down on active long liquidation, after a roller coaster week.

 

The benchmark August 2005 soymeal contract settled RMB43/ton lower at RMB2,824/ton after trading between RMB2,753 and RMB2,883/ton. The benchmark hit limit-up three times in a row earlier this week.

 

Corn futures contracts traded on the exchange settled mostly lower on a mix of long liquidation and selling by short position holders.

 

The benchmark July 2005 contract declined RMB28/ton to settle at RMB1,274/ton, after trading between RMB1,250 and RMB1,299/ton.