November 13, 2008

 

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled down for third consecutive session Wednesday, pressured by overnight losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures.

 

The benchmark May 2009 soybean contract settled RMB62 lower at RMB3,202 a metric tonne, after trading between RMB3,181/tonne and RMB3,228/tonne.

 

There wasn't any fresh news about soy, and the market just followed the declines on the CBOT last night, said an analyst in Beijing with an international trading house.

 

"Looking at the fundamentals, soybean has further downside, but now that we have state purchase plan, the outlook for the price becomes a bit murky," he said.

 

Soymeal and soyoil futures settled lower, along with soybeans.

 

Corn futures also settled lower, with the benchmark contract down 1.4%.

 

"Technically, corn is now in a downward trajectory, but if there is follow-up supportive news about exports, the downside might be limited," said an analyst at a futures brokerage in Zhejiang province.

 

A statement posted on the government's Web site late Wednesday said a meeting of China's State Council has approved the elimination of export duties on grains, but it didn't say what products would be affected and when the changes would take effect.

 

Analysts speculate that the crop most likely to be affected is corn, as exports fell by 95.5% on year in the January-to-October period to around 210,000 tonnes, and domestic prices have come under pressure from ample supply and weak demand.

 

The State Council has asked that steady growth be maintained in exports next year, and the National Development and Reform Commission, along with other relevant departments, is studying production this year and demand next year to decide the details, NDRC Vice Chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang said Thursday.

 

Thursday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and volume for all contracts in lots:

 

Contract      settlement      Price       Change       Volume

Soybeans     May 2009      3,202       Dn  62       898,698

Corn            May 2009      1,582       Dn  22       328,728

Soymeal       Jan 2009       2,525       Dn  15       832,642

Palm Oil        Jan 2009       4,418       Dn 218        56,694

Soyoil           Jan 2009       6,240       Dn 246      390,896