MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Hits Lowest Since December on Slow Demand; Floods Support
VEGOILS-Palm Hits Lowest Since December on Slow Demand; Floods Support
* Price touches lowest since Dec. 26
* Third day of losses, down 3.5 percent this week
* Floods, which have hit supplies, lend support
* Palm still targets 2,214 ringgit level -technicals (Updates prices)
23/01/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures declined to their lowest since December on Friday, as global market uncertainties diminished demand for the edible oil from top customers China and India, but a forecast dip in production after Malaysia's recent floods provided support.
A drop in crude oil prices, which have more than halved since June, coupled with poor demand for palm oil in January have seen prices of tropical oil slip more than 3.5 percent this week.
"Globally there's a lot of uncertainty. China is not rushing to buy, nor is India or Western Europe," a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur told Reuters.
By Friday's close the benchmark April contract was down 0.71 percent at 2,227 ringgit ($619) per tonne, its lowest level since Dec. 26.
"The weather and production are still supporting the market but exports are not moving. The ringgit is so weak but nobody is buying," the trader said.
Monsoon flooding across parts of Peninsular Malaysia and currently in Borneo has crimped supply of palm and will probably eat into stockpiles.
Traded volume stood at 46,219 lots of 25 tonnes, well above the usual 35,000 lots traded per day.
The Malaysian ringgit edged down 0.4 percent in early trade although later levelled out, but is around its weakest in nearly six years. A weak ringgit makes the ringgit-priced palm feedstock cheaper for overseas buyers.
In other markets, oil prices rose on Friday after the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah added uncertainty to an oil market. Oil prices have more than halved since peaking last June.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March dipped 0.19 percent in early Asian trade. The most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange lost 1.07 percent. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1105 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB5 2264 -8.00 2251 2270 169 MY PALM OIL MAR5 2240 -8.00 2234 2260 3563 MY PALM OIL APR5 2227 -16.00 2222 2244 24880 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5 4870 -18.00 4854 4892 329186 CHINA SOYOIL MAY5 5556 -60.00 5540 5612 498812 CBOT SOY OIL MAR5 32.03 -2.60 31.86 32.14 6199 INDIA PALM OIL JAN5 435.80 -2.60 434.00 439.50 404 INDIA SOYOIL FEB5 621.50 -3.50 619.50 624.80 34955 NYMEX CRUDE MAR5 46.94 +0.63 46.24 47.76 49062 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 India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel ($1 = 3.6135 ringgit)
* Third day of losses, down 3.5 percent this week
* Floods, which have hit supplies, lend support
* Palm still targets 2,214 ringgit level -technicals (Updates prices)
23/01/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures declined to their lowest since December on Friday, as global market uncertainties diminished demand for the edible oil from top customers China and India, but a forecast dip in production after Malaysia's recent floods provided support.
A drop in crude oil prices, which have more than halved since June, coupled with poor demand for palm oil in January have seen prices of tropical oil slip more than 3.5 percent this week.
"Globally there's a lot of uncertainty. China is not rushing to buy, nor is India or Western Europe," a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur told Reuters.
By Friday's close the benchmark April contract was down 0.71 percent at 2,227 ringgit ($619) per tonne, its lowest level since Dec. 26.
"The weather and production are still supporting the market but exports are not moving. The ringgit is so weak but nobody is buying," the trader said.
Monsoon flooding across parts of Peninsular Malaysia and currently in Borneo has crimped supply of palm and will probably eat into stockpiles.
Traded volume stood at 46,219 lots of 25 tonnes, well above the usual 35,000 lots traded per day.
The Malaysian ringgit edged down 0.4 percent in early trade although later levelled out, but is around its weakest in nearly six years. A weak ringgit makes the ringgit-priced palm feedstock cheaper for overseas buyers.
In other markets, oil prices rose on Friday after the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah added uncertainty to an oil market. Oil prices have more than halved since peaking last June.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March dipped 0.19 percent in early Asian trade. The most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange lost 1.07 percent. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1105 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB5 2264 -8.00 2251 2270 169 MY PALM OIL MAR5 2240 -8.00 2234 2260 3563 MY PALM OIL APR5 2227 -16.00 2222 2244 24880 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5 4870 -18.00 4854 4892 329186 CHINA SOYOIL MAY5 5556 -60.00 5540 5612 498812 CBOT SOY OIL MAR5 32.03 -2.60 31.86 32.14 6199 INDIA PALM OIL JAN5 435.80 -2.60 434.00 439.50 404 INDIA SOYOIL FEB5 621.50 -3.50 619.50 624.80 34955 NYMEX CRUDE MAR5 46.94 +0.63 46.24 47.76 49062 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 India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel ($1 = 3.6135 ringgit)