May 29, 2006

 

Monday: China soybean futures settle mixed in thin trade; corn up

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mixed Monday after another quiet trading session without much fresh news.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract settled RMB7 lower at RMB2,654 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,652/tonne and RMB2,658/tonne.

 

Trading volume for all soybean contracts shrank further to 11,308 lots from 21,724 lots Friday.

 

One lot equals 10 tonnes.

 

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

 

The benchmark September contract settled unchanged, at RMB2,553/tonne.

 

Speculators were waiting on the sidelines, without fresh news to trade, and they were cautious as the Chicago Board of Trade is closed Monday, analysts said.

 

Soymeal futures settled mixed. The benchmark November 2006 contract fell RMB6 to settle at RMB2,328/tonne, after trading between RMB2,323/tonne and RMB2,333/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 144,752 lots from 221,582 lots Friday.

 

Soyoil futures settled higher. The benchmark September 2006 soyoil contract rose RMB23 to settle at RMB5,241/tonne.

 

"Soymeal is the weakest among all soy futures, due to the still slow recovery of feed production, while soyoil and corn, thanks to their connection with biofuels, are stronger," said Zeng Xuezhou, Beite Futures Co.'s analyst.

 

Corn futures settled higher, underpinned by the rising cash values in the southern Guangdong province, analysts said.

 

The benchmark March 2007 contract settled RMB5 higher at RMB1,540/tonne, after hitting its all-time high at RMB1,547/tonne in afternoon session.

 

Total trading volume for all corn contracts fell to 777,856 lots from 813,112 lots Friday.