July 2, 2008

 

Wednesday: China soybean futures settle at record high on CBOT gains

 

 

Soybean futures traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange settled higher Wednesday, following strong gains on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contracts settled up RMB61, or 1.2%, at a record high of RMB5,205 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB5,181 and RMB5,225/tonne.

 

The September 2008 old crop contracts settled RMB6 higher at RMB5,821/tonne.

 

Rising freight fees and the possibility of further gains on the CBOT pushed DCE soybeans higher.

 

"There are no signs that the CBOT may see a correction (in the near term)," said Li Lei, an analyst at China National Cereals Trade Corp.

 

However, he said old crop contracts may have seen a top after recent strong gains.

 

Soyoil futures, palm oil futures and soymeal futures all settled higher, while corn futures settled little changed.

 

Record crude oil futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight helped to support vegetable oil prices.

 

Soymeal futures made big gains on higher cash prices.

 

Soymeal cash prices in east coastal areas, where big soybean processing plants are located, were RMB30-RMB60/tonne higher Wednesday, as the plants raise prices to try to make up for soyoil prices, which are still sluggish due to ample stocks.

 

Wednesday's settlement prices in yuan per metric tonne and volume for all contracts in lots (one lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):

 

Contract          Settlement          Price          Change          Volume

Soybean           Jan 2009           5,205          Up  61           496,344

Corn                Jan 2009           1,929       Unchanged        258,902

Soymeal           Jan 2009           4,170          Up  90        1,151,460

Palm Oil           Sep 2008         10,820          Up  16             15,498

Soyoil              Sep 2008         12,076          Up  32           199,068