MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Inches Up As Lower Stock Hopes Offset Weak Soy Markets
VEGOILS-Palm Inches Up As Lower Stock Hopes Offset Weak Soy Markets
04/04/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Wednesday as expectations of lower palm oil stocks offset weak overseas soy markets.
Soybean prices have lost 1 percent so far this week and could face further pressure as port congestion in Brazil started to ease and the country's shipments are likely to increase in coming weeks, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
A higher supply of soybeans to be crushed into vegetable oil could shift some demand away from competing palm oil.
But market participants remain hopeful for prices to be supported by an easing in Malaysia's March palm oil inventory, following lower production and improving export data.
By market close, the benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.6 percent to 2,396 ringgit ($778) per tonne. Prices fell as low as 2,335 ringgit on Monday, the lowest in almost three months.
"The market should still be trading in a range between 2,350 and 2,400 ringgit. Today it opened lower because of the weaker soy markets," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "On the local front it's still supportive, as production and stocks are expected to be lower."
Total traded volume stood at 31,672 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly lower than the average 35,000 lots seen this year.
Technical analysis showed palm oil is expected to revisit its Monday low of 2,335 ringgit, as it may have completed a rebound from this level, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Cargo surveyor data showed better exports in March than February, marking the first monthly rise in four months, boosted by higher shipments of refined products.
Malaysia's stock market lost more than 3 percent in early Wednesday trade following Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement that paved the way for a long-anticipated general election, but traders said it should not have the same impact on palm oil futures.
In other markets, Brent crude oil slid towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday as oil stockpiles swelled in top oil consumer the United States, where a struggling economy is limiting demand for fuel.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery edged up 0.1 percent in early Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange inched up 0.2 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL APR3 2337 -20.00 2334 2355 2
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2387 +13.00 2344 2388 1471
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2396 +14.00 2350 2397 13863
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6216 +54.00 6166 6300 851898
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7858 +12.00 7802 7914 708660
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 49.66 +0.07 49.39 49.82 7682
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 96.79 -0.40 96.51 96.96 12691
Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne
CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound
Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1=3.08 ringgit)
Soybean prices have lost 1 percent so far this week and could face further pressure as port congestion in Brazil started to ease and the country's shipments are likely to increase in coming weeks, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
A higher supply of soybeans to be crushed into vegetable oil could shift some demand away from competing palm oil.
But market participants remain hopeful for prices to be supported by an easing in Malaysia's March palm oil inventory, following lower production and improving export data.
By market close, the benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.6 percent to 2,396 ringgit ($778) per tonne. Prices fell as low as 2,335 ringgit on Monday, the lowest in almost three months.
"The market should still be trading in a range between 2,350 and 2,400 ringgit. Today it opened lower because of the weaker soy markets," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "On the local front it's still supportive, as production and stocks are expected to be lower."
Total traded volume stood at 31,672 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly lower than the average 35,000 lots seen this year.
Technical analysis showed palm oil is expected to revisit its Monday low of 2,335 ringgit, as it may have completed a rebound from this level, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Cargo surveyor data showed better exports in March than February, marking the first monthly rise in four months, boosted by higher shipments of refined products.
Malaysia's stock market lost more than 3 percent in early Wednesday trade following Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement that paved the way for a long-anticipated general election, but traders said it should not have the same impact on palm oil futures.
In other markets, Brent crude oil slid towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday as oil stockpiles swelled in top oil consumer the United States, where a struggling economy is limiting demand for fuel.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery edged up 0.1 percent in early Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange inched up 0.2 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL APR3 2337 -20.00 2334 2355 2
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2387 +13.00 2344 2388 1471
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2396 +14.00 2350 2397 13863
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6216 +54.00 6166 6300 851898
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7858 +12.00 7802 7914 708660
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 49.66 +0.07 49.39 49.82 7682
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 96.79 -0.40 96.51 96.96 12691
Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne
CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound
Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1=3.08 ringgit)