MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Falls on Poor Export Data, Records Biggest Monthly Drop Since May
VEGOILS-Palm Falls on Poor Export Data, Records Biggest Monthly Drop Since May
(Recasts, updates prices, adds new quote)
* Prices down 7 pct in July, posts biggest drop in two months
* Malaysia's July palm oil exports fall 2.8 pct m/m-ITS
* Malaysian ringgit slides 0.4 pct to 3.1950
* Palm oil signals mixed -technicals
01/08/2014 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell in thin trade on Thursday, reversing gains from the early session as disappointing export data and weakness in comparative soy markets dragged the tropical oil to record its biggest monthly drop since May.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported that overseas sales of Malaysian palm oil products fell 2.8 percent in July to 1.35 million tonnes, compared to a surge in exports earlier in the month.
Another cargo surveyor will release data for the same period on Aug. 4.
Palm also tracked some losses in U.S. soyoil markets, as both edible oils are common food and fuel substitutes.
The U.S. soyoil contract shed 0.1 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.3 percent.
"Our exports are lower, maybe due to the holiday season," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
"Right now the sentiment is bearish on the back of the weaker bean oil, and the worry of the palm oil-soybean oil spread."
The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 0.4 percent at 2,255 ringgit ($706) per tonne on Thursday.
Total traded volume stood at only 22,445 lots of 25 tonnes, below the usual 35,000 lots as many investors were still away for the Eid al-Fitr festival.
"Its a very slow, lethargic market," said a second Malaysia-based trader. "Indonesia is still on holiday, and they will only be back tomorrow."
Technicals showed that signals are mixed for Malaysian palm oil as it failed to break a support at 2,250 ringgit per tonne, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
"A break below 2,250 ringgit will lead to a further loss to 2,220 ringgit, while a rise above 2,298 ringgit, the 100 percent level, will confirm a reversal of the downtrend," Tao added.
Palm oil, the world's most traded vegetable oil, slipped 7 percent in July to post its biggest monthly price drop since May, pressured by prospects of rising supplies of competing oilseeds.
Soybean prices eased for a third session in a row on Thursday, weighed by the latest forecasts of near-perfect weather in the U.S. Midwest which alleviated concerns that dryness could reduce harvests of the crop.
But the weakening local currency reined in losses.
Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Thursday as solid U.S. growth data lifted the dollar. The Malaysian ringgit slid 0.4 percent to 3.1950 per dollar, making palm a more attractive option for overseas buyers and refiners.
In other markets, Brent crude slipped below $106 a barrel on Thursday as higher OPEC output and disappointing demand in the United States outweighed tensions in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1026 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL AUG4 2328 +10.00 2313 2330 627
MY PALM OIL SEP4 2283 -7.00 2273 2301 2457
MY PALM OIL OCT4 2255 -10.00 2246 2279 12243
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN5 5656 +26.00 5636 5678 459968
CHINA SOYOIL JAN5 6460 +18.00 6428 6486 255722
CBOT SOY OIL DEC4 36.35 -0.04 36.09 36.55 5390
NYMEX CRUDE SEP4 99.37 -0.90 99.09 99.71 22709
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 = 3.1960 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.1747 Chinese yuan)
* Prices down 7 pct in July, posts biggest drop in two months
* Malaysia's July palm oil exports fall 2.8 pct m/m-ITS
* Malaysian ringgit slides 0.4 pct to 3.1950
* Palm oil signals mixed -technicals
01/08/2014 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell in thin trade on Thursday, reversing gains from the early session as disappointing export data and weakness in comparative soy markets dragged the tropical oil to record its biggest monthly drop since May.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported that overseas sales of Malaysian palm oil products fell 2.8 percent in July to 1.35 million tonnes, compared to a surge in exports earlier in the month.
Another cargo surveyor will release data for the same period on Aug. 4.
Palm also tracked some losses in U.S. soyoil markets, as both edible oils are common food and fuel substitutes.
The U.S. soyoil contract shed 0.1 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.3 percent.
"Our exports are lower, maybe due to the holiday season," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
"Right now the sentiment is bearish on the back of the weaker bean oil, and the worry of the palm oil-soybean oil spread."
The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 0.4 percent at 2,255 ringgit ($706) per tonne on Thursday.
Total traded volume stood at only 22,445 lots of 25 tonnes, below the usual 35,000 lots as many investors were still away for the Eid al-Fitr festival.
"Its a very slow, lethargic market," said a second Malaysia-based trader. "Indonesia is still on holiday, and they will only be back tomorrow."
Technicals showed that signals are mixed for Malaysian palm oil as it failed to break a support at 2,250 ringgit per tonne, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
"A break below 2,250 ringgit will lead to a further loss to 2,220 ringgit, while a rise above 2,298 ringgit, the 100 percent level, will confirm a reversal of the downtrend," Tao added.
Palm oil, the world's most traded vegetable oil, slipped 7 percent in July to post its biggest monthly price drop since May, pressured by prospects of rising supplies of competing oilseeds.
Soybean prices eased for a third session in a row on Thursday, weighed by the latest forecasts of near-perfect weather in the U.S. Midwest which alleviated concerns that dryness could reduce harvests of the crop.
But the weakening local currency reined in losses.
Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Thursday as solid U.S. growth data lifted the dollar. The Malaysian ringgit slid 0.4 percent to 3.1950 per dollar, making palm a more attractive option for overseas buyers and refiners.
In other markets, Brent crude slipped below $106 a barrel on Thursday as higher OPEC output and disappointing demand in the United States outweighed tensions in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1026 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL AUG4 2328 +10.00 2313 2330 627
MY PALM OIL SEP4 2283 -7.00 2273 2301 2457
MY PALM OIL OCT4 2255 -10.00 2246 2279 12243
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN5 5656 +26.00 5636 5678 459968
CHINA SOYOIL JAN5 6460 +18.00 6428 6486 255722
CBOT SOY OIL DEC4 36.35 -0.04 36.09 36.55 5390
NYMEX CRUDE SEP4 99.37 -0.90 99.09 99.71 22709
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 = 3.1960 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.1747 Chinese yuan)