MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Palm Drops to One-Week Low as Lower Exports May Boost Reserves
Palm Drops to One-Week Low as Lower Exports May Boost Reserves
03/12/2013 (Bloomberg) - Palm oil fell for a third day to the lowest in a week on speculation that stockpiles in Malaysia, the world’s second-biggest producer, may rise after surveyor estimates showed that exports declined last month.
The contract for February delivery declined as much as 1.1 percent to 2,613 ringgit ($812) a metric ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the lowest price for the most-active contract since Nov. 26, and was at 2,630 ringgit at 11:36 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur. Futures advanced 7.9 percent this year, set for the first annual gain in three years.
Exports from Malaysia dropped 4.8 percent to 1.45 million tons last month from 1.52 million tons in October, surveyor Intertek said Nov. 30. Shipments retreated 4.9 percent, SGS (Malaysia) Sdn. said yesterday. That would be the first monthly decline since May, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board show. Demand usually slows during the Northern Hemisphere winter because the tropical oil clouds in cooler temperatures.
“Stockpiles may be higher due to the low export demand and the expectations of higher production compared to last year,” said Tan Chee Tat, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore. “The high production cycle, although concentrated more in the June to September period,” may be delayed to November due to a shift in the output cycle in older trees, he said.
Output from Malaysia rose to a 13-month high of 1.97 million tons in October, while inventories climbed to 1.85 million tons, the largest since April, data from the country’s palm oil board show.
Refined palm oil for May delivery fell 0.7 percent to 6,260 yuan ($1,027) a ton on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Soybean oil lost 0.2 percent to 7,300 yuan.
Soybean oil for January delivery was unchanged at 40.60 cents a pound on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybeans climbed 0.3 percent to $13.2525 a bushel.
The contract for February delivery declined as much as 1.1 percent to 2,613 ringgit ($812) a metric ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the lowest price for the most-active contract since Nov. 26, and was at 2,630 ringgit at 11:36 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur. Futures advanced 7.9 percent this year, set for the first annual gain in three years.
Exports from Malaysia dropped 4.8 percent to 1.45 million tons last month from 1.52 million tons in October, surveyor Intertek said Nov. 30. Shipments retreated 4.9 percent, SGS (Malaysia) Sdn. said yesterday. That would be the first monthly decline since May, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board show. Demand usually slows during the Northern Hemisphere winter because the tropical oil clouds in cooler temperatures.
“Stockpiles may be higher due to the low export demand and the expectations of higher production compared to last year,” said Tan Chee Tat, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore. “The high production cycle, although concentrated more in the June to September period,” may be delayed to November due to a shift in the output cycle in older trees, he said.
Output from Malaysia rose to a 13-month high of 1.97 million tons in October, while inventories climbed to 1.85 million tons, the largest since April, data from the country’s palm oil board show.
Refined palm oil for May delivery fell 0.7 percent to 6,260 yuan ($1,027) a ton on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Soybean oil lost 0.2 percent to 7,300 yuan.
Soybean oil for January delivery was unchanged at 40.60 cents a pound on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybeans climbed 0.3 percent to $13.2525 a bushel.