MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Hits 2-week High on Ringgit Weakness, External Markets Cap Gains
VEGOILS-Palm Hits 2-week High on Ringgit Weakness, External Markets Cap Gains
* Prices hit 2,069 ringgit level in early trade
* Volumes above average at 52,024 lots by close
(Adds closing prices)
19/08/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures hit their highest level in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as the ringgit continued to weaken near 1998 lows, although declines in competing markets dragged on appetite for the edible oil.
By the close on Tuesday, the benchmark palm oil contract for November on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had lost 0.68 percent to 2,058 ringgit ($503.67) a tonne, after hitting 2,069 ringgit, the highest since Aug. 5.
Traded volume stood at 52,024 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the roughly 35,000 lots usually traded by the close.
The ringgit gave some support to the tropical oil as the benchmark palm is priced in the local currency, traders said, noting that the benchmark was trading in a range.
"Although the ringgit is weak, RBD palmoil in China hasn't moved and U.S. soyoil is laggard," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur, referring to China's Dalian Commodities Exchange.
"It was more of a retracement after a general decline in the market."
Palm futures fell for a seventh consecutive week last week, after data showed a build-up in Malaysia's stocks due to higher production and a slowdown in demand.
Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities technicals, said palm oil faces a resistance at 2,052 ringgit per tonne and may either hover below this level or retrace to a support at 2,017 ringgit.
The ringgit, which has been the worst performing emerging Asian currency so far in 2015, continued to decline on Tuesday to near 1998 pre-peg lows after an extended selloff in local stocks and bonds.
The U.S. September soyoil contract was down 0.65 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was relatively flat, up 0.32 percent.
In related news, India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow oil palm trees in an area the size of New Jersey, government sources said.
U.S. oil prices fell towards six-year lows after stock markets tumbled in China, the world's largest energy consumer, adding to worries about global fuel demand at a time of heavy oversupply.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL SEP5 2000 +1.00 1986 2005 694
MY PALM OIL OCT5 2038 +11.00 2020 2047 11649
MY PALM OIL NOV5 2058 +14.00 2039 2069 22849
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6 4566 -36.00 4548 4632 580102
CHINA SOYOIL JAN6 5536 -18.00 5522 5626 579794
CBOT SOY OIL DEC5 29.18 +2.50 29.12 29.42 4053
INDIA PALM OIL AUG5 392.30 +2.50 390.80 393.90 1013
INDIA SOYOIL AUG5 584.65 -0.90 584.50 586.00 3180
NYMEX CRUDE SEP5 41.65 -0.22 41.43 41.96 17974
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 = 4.0860 ringgit)
($1 = 65.3200 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.3928 Chinese yuan renminbi)
* Volumes above average at 52,024 lots by close
(Adds closing prices)
19/08/2015 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures hit their highest level in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as the ringgit continued to weaken near 1998 lows, although declines in competing markets dragged on appetite for the edible oil.
By the close on Tuesday, the benchmark palm oil contract for November on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had lost 0.68 percent to 2,058 ringgit ($503.67) a tonne, after hitting 2,069 ringgit, the highest since Aug. 5.
Traded volume stood at 52,024 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the roughly 35,000 lots usually traded by the close.
The ringgit gave some support to the tropical oil as the benchmark palm is priced in the local currency, traders said, noting that the benchmark was trading in a range.
"Although the ringgit is weak, RBD palmoil in China hasn't moved and U.S. soyoil is laggard," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur, referring to China's Dalian Commodities Exchange.
"It was more of a retracement after a general decline in the market."
Palm futures fell for a seventh consecutive week last week, after data showed a build-up in Malaysia's stocks due to higher production and a slowdown in demand.
Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities technicals, said palm oil faces a resistance at 2,052 ringgit per tonne and may either hover below this level or retrace to a support at 2,017 ringgit.
The ringgit, which has been the worst performing emerging Asian currency so far in 2015, continued to decline on Tuesday to near 1998 pre-peg lows after an extended selloff in local stocks and bonds.
The U.S. September soyoil contract was down 0.65 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was relatively flat, up 0.32 percent.
In related news, India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow oil palm trees in an area the size of New Jersey, government sources said.
U.S. oil prices fell towards six-year lows after stock markets tumbled in China, the world's largest energy consumer, adding to worries about global fuel demand at a time of heavy oversupply.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL SEP5 2000 +1.00 1986 2005 694
MY PALM OIL OCT5 2038 +11.00 2020 2047 11649
MY PALM OIL NOV5 2058 +14.00 2039 2069 22849
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6 4566 -36.00 4548 4632 580102
CHINA SOYOIL JAN6 5536 -18.00 5522 5626 579794
CBOT SOY OIL DEC5 29.18 +2.50 29.12 29.42 4053
INDIA PALM OIL AUG5 392.30 +2.50 390.80 393.90 1013
INDIA SOYOIL AUG5 584.65 -0.90 584.50 586.00 3180
NYMEX CRUDE SEP5 41.65 -0.22 41.43 41.96 17974
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 = 4.0860 ringgit)
($1 = 65.3200 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.3928 Chinese yuan renminbi)