September 5, 2008
Friday: China soybean futures settle down on CBOT; further fall limited
China's soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled lower Friday, tracking the overnight decline in their counterparts at the Chicago Board of Trade.
The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB60 lower at RMB4,112/tonne, or 1.4%, after trading in a tight range of RMB4,083-RMB4,133/tonne.
Weak cash soymeal and soyoil demand made sentiment weaker, and falling crude oil prices and a stronger dollar also triggered selling.
Still, the possibility of a further decline may be limited as futures prices have fallen to levels that are low compared with cash prices, said Guangfa Futures in a note.
Soybean cash prices in Suihua in Heilongjiang, the country's biggest producing province, were around RMB4,200 a metric tonne this week, unchanged from a week ago.
Uncertainties over output of the new soybeans crop also limited the fall in futures prices.
Market participants are worried that there could be loss of crop in the U.S. Delta from heavy rains following Hurricane Gustav.
The benchmark CBOT soybean contracts are likely to test US$12.00 a bushel in the near term, said analysts.
CBOT September soybeans settled 17 cents lower at US$12.34 and November soybeans ended 16 1/2 cents lower at US$12.35.
Soyoil futures, palm oil futures, soymeal futures and corn futures settled lower.
Friday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and volume for all contracts in lots (One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):
Contract Settlement Price Change Volume
Soybean Jan 2009 4,112 Dn 60 812,694
Corn Jan 2009 1,705 Dn 14 230,200
Soymeal Jan 2009 3,455 Dn 58 636,086
Palm Oil Jan 2009 7,228 Dn 100 34,718
Soyoil Jan 2009 8,748 Dn 144 366,340
