Today (Apr. 23), the market for oilseeds and oils in China is shown as follows:

 

Imported soybean: Imported Argentine soybean prices are stable with a weakening trend at port today. In spite of scarce supplies at port now, some port traders are willing to clear stocks and tend to slightly lower down quotes, which can be mainly contributed to following factors. Chinese importers keep on buying Brazilian soybeans due to decent crush margins. Meanwhile, monthly soybean arrivals at ports are forecast to average nearly 10 mln tonnes from May to July, and participants said that some 50,000 tonnes of US soybeans is expected to arrive at domestic ports late this month at Shandong port. Dominated by bearish factors, the market for imported soybeans is predicted to have downside potential in the short run.

Cottonseed: Cottonseed price stays stable with partial fluctuations of 0.01-0.02 CNY/kg. 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.

Summary: US soybean futures rose on Wednesday, as Chinese importers bought at least three shipments of U.S. soybeans this week after prices sank to an 11-month low on Tuesday. And crude oil prices also ended sharply higher on Wednesday. Besides, domestic soybean oil and palm oil stocks have both fallen to a relatively low level. Hence, oil futures move higher on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today, of which soybean oil is expanding gains. In the spot markets, soybean oil goes up 30-100 yuan/tonne and palm oil partially up 40-50 yuan/tonnes, with decent trading on forward-month deliveries. The Malaysian Palm Oil Association estimated palm oil output to jump 26% month on month for April 1-20. 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. In addition, gross crushing margins for Brazilian soybeans still stay high at 270-357 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. Besides, Soybean crush in China is forecast to return to a relatively high level in the coming two weeks. Hence, there is still a myriad of bearish fundamentals. And crude oil market is still in a weak pattern due to the severe pandemic. Overall, the oil market in China is predicted to have limited upward impetus and may fall again after a wave of bounces.

Soybean oil: GB Grade I soybean oil is mainly priced at 5600-5720 CNY/tonne in domestic coastal areas, a rise of 30-100 CNY/tonne. (Tianjin traders 5600-5620 (DCE Y2009+150/170) for May; Rizhao traders 5700; Zhangjiagang traders 5720; and Guangzhou traders 5690 (DCE Y2009+200) for May). 

Palm oil: RBD palm olein is mainly priced at 4810-5100 CNY/tonne in coastal areas, a partial rise of 40-50 CNY/tonne. (Tianjin traders 5100; Rizhao traders not available; Zhangjiagang traders 4910, up 50; Guangzhou traders 4810-4830,up 40; and Xiamen not available). 

Imported rapeseed oil: Imported rapeseed oil goes up in price today, of which it settles up 50-70 CNY at 6,920-7,070 CNY/tonne in coastal regions. (Fujian 7070; Guangdong not available, and Guangxi 6920, up 50.) Domestic rapeseed crush remains at a low level amid tensions between China and Canada, and rapeseed oil is also in tight supply. Oil mills now are signing contracts for forward-month deliveries. In the week ending April 17th, rapeseed oil stocks fell to 190,000 tonnes in coastal regions, soybean oil stocks saw a six-week decline to 900,000 tonnes, and palm oil stocks also posted a weekly drop of 6% to 610,000 tonnes. These together support the market. However, Chinese importers keeping purchasing South American soybeans due to handsome crush margins on the DCE, and soybean crush is expected to return to a relatively high level in coming two weeks. The impact of an unprecedented collapse in crude oil prices earlier this week still lingers in the market, so rapeseed oil market will have limited upward impetus and remain dim on the whole. Buyers are suggested not to chase after excessively huge rises.

Cottonseed oil: Cottonseed oil keeps steady with partial fluctuations of 50-100 CNY/tonne today. Soybean crush is projected to rise to an extremely high level over the next two weeks, leading the overall oils trend to be not optimistic. With tepid trading in cottonseed oil, its price drops in several regions. But cottonseed is pricey and about to out of the stock. Since the 11-month-low on Tuesday, Chinese importers purchased at least two cargoes of U.S. soybeans this week, causing U.S soybeans to rise last night and crude oil to rebound sharply. Besides, the inventories of soybean oil and palm oil slide to lower levels, and oils on DCE all increase today. And the rises of soybean oil enlarge gradually. On the spot market, soybean oil up by 30-100 CNY/tonne and palm oil partly up by 40-50 CNY/tonne, and cottonseed oil follow the rise in some regions. However, the coronavirus pandemic still puts pressure on oils fundamentals, and crude oil still maintains a weak trend. Therefore, cottonseed oil price needs to be taken with caution.