MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Snaps 4-day Decline; Remains Near Six-week Low on Slow Demand
VEGOILS-Palm Snaps 4-day Decline; Remains Near Six-week Low on Slow Demand
* Prices rebound after hitting 2,152 ringgit
* Palm oil may fall to 2,097 ringgit -technicals (Updates throughout)
28/01/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futuresrebounded on Tuesday to snap four days of declines but remainednot far off their lowest in almost six weeks as a big domesticcrop, poor demand and weak competing oil prices put pressure onthe edible oil.
By the close, the benchmark April contract hadgained 0.28 percent to 2,172 ringgit ($597) per tonne, aftertouching 2,151 ringgit in early trade, the contract's lowestpoint since Dec. 19.
Traded volume stood at 50,050 lots of 25 tonnes, well abovethe typical 35,000 lots.
"The bigger picture is still bearish but for the short termwe see a long-awaited upward correction," said a trader with aforeign commodities firm in Kuala Lumpur. However, some tradersdoubted how high prices would go in the short term, with onesuggesting they would likely hover around 2,200 ringgit over thenext five days.
"Demand for palm is not that strong and competing productsare also at low levels. Even though the ringgit is weak, buyersstill have other options," said a second trader with a foreigncommodities firm in Kuala Lumpur, adding that recent export datawas pulling prices lower.
"The market today is still under selling pressure."
A forecast record palm oil crop of 20.1 million tonnes bythe world's second-biggest producer in 2015 coincides withexpected record high production of soybeans in South Americathis year, and record output in the United States in 2014.
Malaysian exports of palm oil products fell 17.7 percent to886,189 tonnes between Jan. 1 and Jan. 25 from the same period amonth before, according to cargo surveyor Intertek TestingServices. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale deSurveillance, reported exports for the same period slid 19percent.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract forMarch gained 0.32 percent in Asian trade. The most activeMay soybean oil contract on the Dalian CommodityExchange shed 0.76 percent.
The Malaysian ringgit strengthened around half apercent on Tuesday to 3.5990 per dollar, but has lost more than14 percent since September. A weaker ringgit normally leads toincreased demand for palm, making it cheaper for foreign buyers.
Oil prices steadied above $48 a barrel, recovering fromearlier losses as the dollar weakened against the euro.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1052 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB5 2190 -12.00 2173 2192 534 MY PALM OIL MAR5 2190 -4.00 2161 2190 4232 MY PALM OIL APR5 2172 +6.00 2151 2182 23648 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5 4826 -24.00 4822 4868 327400 CHINA SOYOIL MAY5 5484 -42.00 5478 5540 365636 CBOT SOY OIL MAR5 31.16 -6.00 30.87 31.19 12553 INDIA PALM OIL JAN5 428.60 -6.00 424.40 431.40 467 INDIA SOYOIL FEB5 618.40 +2.20 609.00 618.40 45880 NYMEX CRUDE MAR5 45.36 +0.21 44.81 45.74 35020
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 = 3.6095 ringgit)
($1 = 6.2517 Chinese yuan renminbi)
($1 = 61.4400 Indian rupees)
* Palm oil may fall to 2,097 ringgit -technicals (Updates throughout)
28/01/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futuresrebounded on Tuesday to snap four days of declines but remainednot far off their lowest in almost six weeks as a big domesticcrop, poor demand and weak competing oil prices put pressure onthe edible oil.
By the close, the benchmark April contract hadgained 0.28 percent to 2,172 ringgit ($597) per tonne, aftertouching 2,151 ringgit in early trade, the contract's lowestpoint since Dec. 19.
Traded volume stood at 50,050 lots of 25 tonnes, well abovethe typical 35,000 lots.
"The bigger picture is still bearish but for the short termwe see a long-awaited upward correction," said a trader with aforeign commodities firm in Kuala Lumpur. However, some tradersdoubted how high prices would go in the short term, with onesuggesting they would likely hover around 2,200 ringgit over thenext five days.
"Demand for palm is not that strong and competing productsare also at low levels. Even though the ringgit is weak, buyersstill have other options," said a second trader with a foreigncommodities firm in Kuala Lumpur, adding that recent export datawas pulling prices lower.
"The market today is still under selling pressure."
A forecast record palm oil crop of 20.1 million tonnes bythe world's second-biggest producer in 2015 coincides withexpected record high production of soybeans in South Americathis year, and record output in the United States in 2014.
Malaysian exports of palm oil products fell 17.7 percent to886,189 tonnes between Jan. 1 and Jan. 25 from the same period amonth before, according to cargo surveyor Intertek TestingServices. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale deSurveillance, reported exports for the same period slid 19percent.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract forMarch gained 0.32 percent in Asian trade. The most activeMay soybean oil contract on the Dalian CommodityExchange shed 0.76 percent.
The Malaysian ringgit strengthened around half apercent on Tuesday to 3.5990 per dollar, but has lost more than14 percent since September. A weaker ringgit normally leads toincreased demand for palm, making it cheaper for foreign buyers.
Oil prices steadied above $48 a barrel, recovering fromearlier losses as the dollar weakened against the euro.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1052 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB5 2190 -12.00 2173 2192 534 MY PALM OIL MAR5 2190 -4.00 2161 2190 4232 MY PALM OIL APR5 2172 +6.00 2151 2182 23648 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5 4826 -24.00 4822 4868 327400 CHINA SOYOIL MAY5 5484 -42.00 5478 5540 365636 CBOT SOY OIL MAR5 31.16 -6.00 30.87 31.19 12553 INDIA PALM OIL JAN5 428.60 -6.00 424.40 431.40 467 INDIA SOYOIL FEB5 618.40 +2.20 609.00 618.40 45880 NYMEX CRUDE MAR5 45.36 +0.21 44.81 45.74 35020
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 = 3.6095 ringgit)
($1 = 6.2517 Chinese yuan renminbi)
($1 = 61.4400 Indian rupees)