Today (Apr. 22), the market for oilseeds and oils in China is shown as follows:
Oilseeds:
Imported soybean: Imported Argentine soybean is quoted at 4,350-4,370 CNY/tonne at port today, down 50 CNY/tonne. Some 50,000 tonnes of US soybeans is expected to arrive at domestic ports late this month at Shandong port, so several port traders turn willing to make delivery and slightly lower down their quotes to book profits now. However, soybeans are still in low volume at Shandong ports, and domestic soybean prices also stay stable at present, which help bolster imported soybean market. Overall, the market for imported soybeans is predicted to steady with a weakening trend in the short run.
Cottonseed: Cottonseed price declines by 0.02 CNY/kg in some regions and stays stable in Xinjiang. But most of inland mills halt the purchase and don’t offer the quotation. Due to a poor market of oils and meals, some crushing mills in Shandong plan to suspend the operation and mainly implement previous contract or run out stocks. And they are wary of buying spot goods and even tend to force price down. As it will take a long time before the marketing of new cottonseed, traders are in no hurry to run out stocks and still prop up price. Therefore, it is predicted that short-term cottonseed price may fluctuate to adjust.
Oils:
Summary: US soybean futures were modestly higher on short covering and technical buying after consecutive losses for six sessions. And on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today, soybean oil bounces back, while palm oil is still falling. In the spot markets, soybean oil fluctuates by 20-50 CNY/tonne and palm oil mostly down by 10 CNY/tonne. Spot trading is forecast to be tepid, while there will still be decent purchases on low-level forward basis. Domestic oil market bounces back after huge losses, and domestic soybean oil and palm oil stocks have both fallen to a relatively low level. However, West Texas Intermediate oil June contract fell 43% to settle at 11.57 USD a barrel Tuesday on a sharp decline in the demand for fuels amid the COVID-19. Besides, Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled by 7.5% on Tuesday to the lowest level since last August. Meanwhile, Malaysia has postponed the nationwide implementation of B20 mandate, and the demand for edible oil is also battered by the nationwide lockdown in India. Besides, gross crushing margins for Brazilian soybeans still stay high at 240-339 CNY/tonne on the DCE, so Chinese importers keep purchasing South American crops. And monthly soybean arrivals at ports are predicted to average 9.8 mln tonnes from May to July. Soybean crush in China is forecast to return to a relatively high level in the coming two weeks. Shrouded by a myriad of bearish factors, the oil market will have limited upward impetus and remain dim on the whole. Buyers can buy on immediate demand.
Soybean oil: GB Grade I soybean oil is mainly priced at 5520-5650 CNY/tonne in domestic coastal areas, a decline of 70-170 CNY/tonne. (Tianjin traders 5520-5540 (DCE Y2009+150/170) for May; Rizhao traders 5700; Zhangjiagang traders 5650; and Guangzhou traders 5610 (DCE Y2009+240) for May).
Palm oil: RBD palm olein is mainly priced at 4780-5020 CNY/tonne in coastal areas, mostly down 10 CNY/tonne. (Tianjin traders 5000-5020; Rizhao traders 5010, down 10; Zhangjiagang traders 4880, down 10; Guangzhou traders 4780, down 10; and Xiamen not available).
Imported rapeseed oil: Imported rapeseed oil goes up in price today, of which it settles up 20-50 CNY at 6,850-6,930 CNY/tonne in coastal regions. (Fujian 7050; Guangdong not available, and Guangxi 6870, up 20.) Domestic rapeseed crush remains at a low level amid tensions between China and Canada, and soybean oil, palm oil and rapeseed oil stocks were all declining last week, which help support rapeseed oil market. However, considerable crushing margins for soybeans on the DCE continue attracting Chinese importers to keep purchasing, and monthly soybean arrivals at ports are predicted to average 9.8 mln tonnes from May to July; hence, soybean crush is expected to return to a relatively high level in coming two weeks. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate oil June contract fell 43% to settle at 11.57 USD a barrel Tuesday on a sharp decline in the demand for fuels amid the COVID-19. And Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled by 7.5% on Tuesday to the lowest level since last August. In such a bearish environment, rapeseed oil market will have limited upward impetus and remain dim on the whole. Buyers are suggested to remain cautious in chasing after higher prices.
Cottonseed oil: Cottonseed oil keeps steady today. As the serve coronavirus pandemic greatly hurt demand for crude oil, crude prices crashed to a record low. Besides, spot soybean oil sharply declined last night. Thus, participants just watch the market amid the grim mood in cottonseed oil market, and there are few new orders. But due to low output of cottonseed oil and high cost as cottonseed is out of stock and pricey, some oil mills keep the price stable tentatively. Additionally, soybean crush is projected to an extremely high level over the next two weeks, leading the overall oils trend to be not optimistic, and short-term cottonseed oil market may fluctuate to pare gains.
(USD $1=CNY ￥7.09)
