MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Falls To 4-Month Low, Caution Remains
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Falls To 4-Month Low, Caution Remains
18/04/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell to a 4-month low on Wednesday, as investors refrained from taking risky positions after this week's rout in commodities and ahead of export data.
Risky assets such as gold and crude oil rebounded slightly from massive sell-offs this week, but the price outlook remained volatile as concerns lingered over slowing global growth.
Palm oil traders are now waiting for further export numbers as stocks of the edible oil could ease further on higher shipments and weak production. Inventory levels fell to 2.17 million tonnes in March, the lowest in seven months.
"Uncertainty still weighs on the market, it looks like it will be this way at least for the week," said a trader with a domestic commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 1.1 percent to close at 2,276 ringgit ($760) per tonne. Prices fell as low as 2,269 ringgit, a level last seen on Dec. 14.
Total traded volumes stood at 38,934 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the average 35,000 lots seen so far this year.
Technical analysis showed a bearish target at 2,249 ringgit will be confirmed as palm oil dropped below its Monday low of 2,281 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
Market participant will be hoping for some improvement in Malaysian palm oil exports for the first 20 days of the month. Shipments for the first half of April dropped 4 percent from a month ago, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a steeper 7-percent fall.
In other markets, Brent crude slid towards $99 per barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by the prospect of sluggish fuel demand in top consumers the United States and China and rising stockpiles of U.S. crude.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery fell 0.2 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange gained 0.6 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1015 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2253 -31.00 2253 2292 661
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2270 -27.00 2265 2305 7366
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2276 -25.00 2269 2310 21664
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6112 -4.00 6080 6210 496658
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7644 +44.00 7608 7726 697386
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 48.91 -0.08 48.82 49.19 3850
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 87.93 -0.79 87.85 89.09 21903
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=3.029 ringgit)
Risky assets such as gold and crude oil rebounded slightly from massive sell-offs this week, but the price outlook remained volatile as concerns lingered over slowing global growth.
Palm oil traders are now waiting for further export numbers as stocks of the edible oil could ease further on higher shipments and weak production. Inventory levels fell to 2.17 million tonnes in March, the lowest in seven months.
"Uncertainty still weighs on the market, it looks like it will be this way at least for the week," said a trader with a domestic commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 1.1 percent to close at 2,276 ringgit ($760) per tonne. Prices fell as low as 2,269 ringgit, a level last seen on Dec. 14.
Total traded volumes stood at 38,934 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the average 35,000 lots seen so far this year.
Technical analysis showed a bearish target at 2,249 ringgit will be confirmed as palm oil dropped below its Monday low of 2,281 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
Market participant will be hoping for some improvement in Malaysian palm oil exports for the first 20 days of the month. Shipments for the first half of April dropped 4 percent from a month ago, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a steeper 7-percent fall.
In other markets, Brent crude slid towards $99 per barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by the prospect of sluggish fuel demand in top consumers the United States and China and rising stockpiles of U.S. crude.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery fell 0.2 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange gained 0.6 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1015 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2253 -31.00 2253 2292 661
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2270 -27.00 2265 2305 7366
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2276 -25.00 2269 2310 21664
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6112 -4.00 6080 6210 496658
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7644 +44.00 7608 7726 697386
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 48.91 -0.08 48.82 49.19 3850
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 87.93 -0.79 87.85 89.09 21903
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=3.029 ringgit)