July 7, 2008
Monday: China soybean futures settle down on good US weather
Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Monday on a good U.S. weather forecast.
The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB52 lower at RMB5,082/tonne after trading between RMB5,038 and RMB5,120/tonne.
Soybean contracts opened lower along with their counterparts traded in the Chicago Board of Trade's electronic session during Asian time.
Analysts said the weather in major producing areas of the U.S. Midwest is expected to remain dry for the early part of this week, which is good for output.
But soybean contracts recovered from the session low in early morning trade, helped by expectations that flooding last month in the U.S. Midwest will result in reduced unit yields, as the best time for planting was missed, said Gao Yunyue, an analyst at Dadi Futures Brokerage.
The good fundamentals in the U.S. are unlikely to change in the near term, he added.
But some analysts said opportunities for a downward correction this week have increased, as major long position holders have been covering their long positions and increasing their short positions.
The benchmark contract is strongly supported at RMB5,000/tonne, said Tianqi Futures in a note to clients.
Sluggish cash demand for soyoil continues to plague soyoil futures, but prices will rise in September, when the weather turns cool and demand is likely to pick up, said Gao.
Soyoil futures, palm oil futures, soymeal futures and corn futures all settled lower.
Monday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and the volume for all contracts in lots (One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):
Contract Settlement Price Change Volume
Soybeans Jan 2009 5,082 Dn 52 651,384
Corn Jan 2009 1,909 Dn 16 399,962
Soymeal Jan 2009 4,103 Dn 68 1,254,934
Palm Oil Sep 2008 10,528 Dn 52 23,186
Soyoil Jan 2009 11,656 Dn 90 110,282
