MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Ends Higher After Surprise Fall in Exports; Weak Ringgit Aids Gain
VEGOILS-Palm Ends Higher After Surprise Fall in Exports; Weak Ringgit Aids Gain
22/04/2014 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Monday after two days of losses, as investors pinned hopes for an increase in demand ahead of a major Muslim festival despite a surprise drop in exports in the first 20 days of the month.
A weaker Malaysian ringgit, which fell 0.25 percent to 3.2485 against U.S. dollar in late trade, also attracted buying interest from overseas buyers and refiners, lending support to the palm market.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.3 percent higher at 2,640 ringgit ($812) per tonne after hitting a more than one-week low of 2,612 ringgit in the afternoon session.
"Exports are not impressive, but market players are looking forward to the next 10 days," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.
"The ringgit also weakened, that's why the market was higher," the Kuala Lumpur-based trader added.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products between April 1-20 fell 5.9 percent from a month ago to 722,170 tonnes, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported, as weaker demand in Europe offset bigger sales of palm to top buyers
India and China.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, showed that shipment volumes for the same period fell 6 percent.
Total traded volumes were thin at 25,288 lots of 25 tonnes, much below the average 35,000 lots, with some currency and equity markets overseas still closed for the Easter holiday weekend.
Technicals were bullish. Malaysian palm oil may rebound to resistance at 2,651 ringgit per tonne as it failed to break support at 2,621 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Market players expect edible oil imports in India, Pakistan and the Middle East to rise later in April as buyers restock ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in late June, followed by Eid al-Fitr celebrations in July.
Traders are also optimistic that output in Malaysia, the world's No.2 producer, will likely rise only slightly in April after surging more than 17 percent a month ago. March's crude palm oil production had jumped to 1.50 million tonnes, against market estimates for 1.39 million tonnes.
"Fundamentals are very supportive because production in Peninsular Malaysia estates is low for the first 15 days of April," said another Kuala Lumpur-based trader. "Ramadan demand is keeping nearby availability tight."
In other markets, Brent futures dropped towards $109 a barrel as investorstook profits after steep gains, but uncertainty surrounding the crisis in Ukraine checked the decline.
In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for May slipped 0.7 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 1 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1027 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY4 2696 +2.00 2675 2696 376
MY PALM OIL JUN4 2653 +5.00 2628 2659 5233
MY PALM OIL JUL4 2640 +6.00 2612 2645 14742
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP4 6126 -60.00 6124 6246 393312
CHINA SOYOIL SEP4 6958 -72.00 6950 7072 475282
CBOT SOY OIL JUL4 43.30 -0.36 43.26 43.90 5716
NYMEX CRUDE MAY4 104.10 -0.20 103.93 104.63 6362
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 = 3.250 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.2274 Chinese yuan)
A weaker Malaysian ringgit, which fell 0.25 percent to 3.2485 against U.S. dollar in late trade, also attracted buying interest from overseas buyers and refiners, lending support to the palm market.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.3 percent higher at 2,640 ringgit ($812) per tonne after hitting a more than one-week low of 2,612 ringgit in the afternoon session.
"Exports are not impressive, but market players are looking forward to the next 10 days," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.
"The ringgit also weakened, that's why the market was higher," the Kuala Lumpur-based trader added.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products between April 1-20 fell 5.9 percent from a month ago to 722,170 tonnes, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported, as weaker demand in Europe offset bigger sales of palm to top buyers
India and China.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, showed that shipment volumes for the same period fell 6 percent.
Total traded volumes were thin at 25,288 lots of 25 tonnes, much below the average 35,000 lots, with some currency and equity markets overseas still closed for the Easter holiday weekend.
Technicals were bullish. Malaysian palm oil may rebound to resistance at 2,651 ringgit per tonne as it failed to break support at 2,621 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Market players expect edible oil imports in India, Pakistan and the Middle East to rise later in April as buyers restock ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in late June, followed by Eid al-Fitr celebrations in July.
Traders are also optimistic that output in Malaysia, the world's No.2 producer, will likely rise only slightly in April after surging more than 17 percent a month ago. March's crude palm oil production had jumped to 1.50 million tonnes, against market estimates for 1.39 million tonnes.
"Fundamentals are very supportive because production in Peninsular Malaysia estates is low for the first 15 days of April," said another Kuala Lumpur-based trader. "Ramadan demand is keeping nearby availability tight."
In other markets, Brent futures dropped towards $109 a barrel as investorstook profits after steep gains, but uncertainty surrounding the crisis in Ukraine checked the decline.
In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for May slipped 0.7 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 1 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1027 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY4 2696 +2.00 2675 2696 376
MY PALM OIL JUN4 2653 +5.00 2628 2659 5233
MY PALM OIL JUL4 2640 +6.00 2612 2645 14742
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP4 6126 -60.00 6124 6246 393312
CHINA SOYOIL SEP4 6958 -72.00 6950 7072 475282
CBOT SOY OIL JUL4 43.30 -0.36 43.26 43.90 5716
NYMEX CRUDE MAY4 104.10 -0.20 103.93 104.63 6362
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 = 3.250 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.2274 Chinese yuan)