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CBOT meal rebounds, ends up, soyaoil at 3-week lows

CHICAGO: Soyameal futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rebounded from an early slide to two-week lows and ended higher on Friday, lifted by a recovery in corn and soyabean markets.

Soyaoil futures declined further to end at the lowest levels in more than three weeks, pressured by ongoing bearishness over slack U.S. exports and abundant world vegetable oil supplies. Commodity funds sold at least 1,500 soyaoil contracts on the day, and bought about 1,200 meal, traders said.

Soyameal settled unchanged to $3 per ton higher, with March up $3 at $162.70, after earlier falling as low as $158 for the contract's lowest price since $157.40 on Jan. 19.

Soyaoil settled 0.05 to 0.20 cent per lb lower, with March down 0.14 at 15.82 cents, the contract's lowest close since Jan. 11.

Soyameal followed soyabeans lower early as soyabean prices sank on beliefs that widespread rainfall in southern Brazil brought some relief to dryness-stressed cropland.

But traders said dryness concerns surrounding South America's soyabean crop remained a factor, with forecasts turning drier for the weekend and early next week across much of South America's soyabean belt. CBOT soyabeans bounced back late and ended up more than 4 cents a bushel in nearby contracts.

Soyameal was also underpinned by strength in corn prices, which rebounded late.

Dan Cekander, head of grain research for FIMAT Futures Inc., said beliefs that the corn market will resume a recent upswing may have encouraged buying of meal against selling of soyaoil.

Corn and meal are both key components of livestock feed, and prices for each often move in the same direction.

"If you believe that, it will probably give you more confidence to buy meal and sell oil," Cekander said.

Soyaoil continued to languish amid an environment of soft foreign demand and abundant vegetable oil supplies globally. Cekander noted that China -- one of the world's top vegetable oil importers -- has been largely absent from the world market recently.

"China is not around," he said. "What is the bull story in oil if China is not in the market? That's just not there."

Worldwide, total output of vegetable oils in the 1999/2000 marketing year was expected to be 85.57 million tonnes, up from 81.69 million in 1998/99, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the pits, Cargill Investor Services sold 600 March soyaoil contracts and 600 May up to late trading, and Refco sold 300 March and 100 each in May and July, pit sources said.

In meal, Prudential Securities bought 300 March and Iowa Grain sold 300 March and 100 May.

Soyameal volume during Friday's pit session was estimated by the CBOT at 17,500 contracts, compared to 20,798 Thursday.

Soyaoil volume was estimated at 21,000 contracts, compared to 20,122 Thursday.-Reuters