June 7, 2006

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle lower due to CBOT; corn down

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled mostly lower Wednesday, after soybean futures foundered on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight.

 

The benchmark September 2006 soybean contract fell RMB10 to settle at RMB2,649 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB2,641/tonne and RMB2,658/tonne.

 

Overall trading volume rose slightly to 20,772 lots from 19,494 lots Tuesday.

 

One lot equals to 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 RMB12 lower at RMB2,539/tonne.

 

Losses in other local commodities futures also pressured soybeans, said Lin Hui, an analyst with China International Futures Co., aside from Monday's strong gains, which had called for a technical correction.

 

"Longs are still hesitating, not sure whether it's an uptrend, given the volatile markets of other commodities and the oversupply of soybeans on the local market," Lin said.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures mirrored the movements of soybean futures.

 

The benchmark November 2006 soymeal contract fell RMB12 to settle at RMB2,361/tonne, after trading between RMB2,349/tonne and RMB2,373/tonne.

 

Total trading volume fell to 405,996 lots from 407,800 lots Tuesday.

 

The most widely held September 2006 soyoil contract settled RMB25 lower at RMB5,189/tonne.

 

Corn futures also settled slightly lower, along with soy futures, while traders said corn still has stronger support from rising cash values, in spite of the current consolidation pattern.

 

The benchmark March 2007 contract fell RMB9 to settle at RMB1,506/tonne, after trading between RMB1,498/tonne and RMB1,513/tonne.

 

Total trading volume for all corn contracts fell to 430,260 lots from 498,988 lots Tuesday.