July 11, 2011

Soy futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended higher Friday (Jul 8), led by gains in soyoil after US soyoil closed 2.2% higher Thursday on firm cash markets.

The benchmark January soy contract settled 0.5% higher at RMB4,451 (US$688.27)/tonne, above the 60-day moving average - RMB4,449 (US$687.97)/tonne Friday - for the first time in more than a month.

Some edible-oil manufacturers have announced price rises of around 5%, the state-controlled China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) said, indicating government-imposed price ceilings may be lifted soon.

China extended price caps on cooking oil sales to August 15 to keep the market stable ahead of heavy consumption during the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to local media reports. The price caps were originally supposed to be lifted in mid-June.

Manufacturers have been suffering negative since the government introduced the price caps last December, the CNGOIC said.

"Favourable crop weather and the slow pace of destocking curbed the rebound in soy prices," analysts said.

Soy will continue to rebound over the next few sessions, with RMB4,500 (US$696)/tonne likely to cap the gains unless weather conditions add further impetus to prices, they added.