Commodities: Soybean Prices Extend Weakness

According to the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), selling pressure continued to dominate the world raw material market in yesterday's trading session (April 15). At the close, the MXV-Index decreased slightly by 0.1% to 2,161 points. Notably, green continued to cover the metal market as the market expected the US to soon lower interest rates and positive consumption signals from key industries. Meanwhile, soybean prices were affected by profit-taking activities after previous consecutive increases.

Thị trường hàng hoá: Giá đậu tương mở rộng đà suy yếu

MXV-Index

Buying power continues to dominate the metals market

The metal market continued to maintain its upward momentum in the trading session on April 15 with overwhelming buying pressure thanks to expectations that the US will soon lower interest rates and positive consumption signals from key industries.

In the precious metals market, at the end of the session, silver price increased by 0.4% to 32.3 USD/ounce, while platinum price increased by 1.3% to 969.9 USD/ounce.

Metal price list

Global sales of electric and hybrid vehicles rose 29% year-on-year in March to 1.7 million units, according to Rho Motion. In particular, sales in China increased by 36%, approaching the 1 million mark, while sales in Europe increased by 24% to 400,000 units, thanks to stricter emissions regulations. This strong growth is expected to boost demand for silver and platinum, as silver is used in electrical systems and sensors, while platinum plays a key role in the exhaust gas treatment of hybrid vehicles.

In the base metals group, COMEX copper prices edged up 0.01% to $10,198.57/ton, while iron ore extended its recovery with a 0.59% increase to $98.71/ton.

The ready-to-deliver copper inventory on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) at the end of March was only 235,296 tonnes, down 12% from the end of February. This development partly reinforced concerns about tight supply, thereby supporting copper prices to continue to maintain green in yesterday's trading session.

In addition, data from the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) shows that global stainless steel production in 2024 will increase by 7% compared to 2023, reflecting stable production demand and contributing to boosting the consumption of input materials such as iron ore, creating momentum for price recovery in the market.

Soybean prices extend decline

According to MXV, in yesterday's trading session, red continued to dominate the agricultural market. In particular, soybean prices extended their decline during the trading session, closing with a 0.55% adjustment to 380 USD/ton. The decline mainly came from profit-taking activities after a series of continuous increases, especially in near-month contracts, while far-month contracts remained green.

Agricultural product price list

Pressure on the market increased after the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) released its March crushing report with lower-than-expected results. Specifically, the soybean crushing volume reached about 5.3 million tons, nearly 81,650 tons lower than the average forecast. Although higher than February, this figure is still lower than the same period last year and recorded the lowest average crushing rate in the past 6 months, reducing expectations for short-term soybean consumption demand.

In addition, strong export prospects from Brazil continue to put pressure on prices. The Brazilian Grain Exporters Association (ANEC) forecasts soybean exports in April at 14.5 million tonnes, up from 13.3 million tonnes last week, thanks to the accelerated harvest.

Tariff-related news is still abundant but not strong enough to impact the market. The Trump administration is shifting to negotiating with partners and promoting domestic investment, while China continues to maintain a confrontational stance and is the only country with the highest tariffs.

For soybean products, soybean oil prices were supported by significantly lower-than-expected NOPA inventories. Conversely, soybean meal prices weakened in line with soybeans, as the depreciation of the peso is expected to boost soybean meal exports from Argentina, adding further downward pressure on the commodity.

Prices of some other goods