The Edge Markets (20/02/2019) - KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 20): Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher on Wednesday, supported  by firm cargo surveyor export data for the first 20 days of this month although higher-than-expected production weighed on the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.1% at RM2,262 a tonne at the midday break. Earlier in the session, the contract fell to a three-session low of RM2,252.

Trading volumes stood at 10,013 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon.

The market was held by firm export figures, said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that he was not bullish as production is still higher than expected.

"On a year-on-year basis, production is still high," he said.  

Malaysia's palm oil exports from Feb 1-20 rose 0.03% from a month earlier, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported on Wednesday.

Production fell 3.9% to 1.74 million tonnes in January, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed.

Output of the edible oil typically falls during the first quarter of the year in line with seasonal trend.

In other related oils, the Chicago March soybean oil contract was up 0.4%, while the May soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the Dalian May palm oil contract declined 1.3%.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.    

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0501 GMT

Contract                                 Month     Last  Change  Low    High   Volume

MY PALM OIL                       MAR9     2152   -3.00    2149    2162     163

MY PALM OIL                       APR9     2236   +1.00    2227    2244    2429

MY PALM OIL                       MAY9     2262   +2.00    2252    2270    4668

CHINA PALM OLEIN          MAY9     4756  -64.00    4742    4800  412762

CHINA SOYOIL                    MAY9     5720  -40.00    5710    5772  281296

CBOT SOY OIL                    MAR9    29.85   +0.11   29.71   29.91    5058

INDIA PALM OIL                  FEB9   567.50   +0.00  567.50   571.8      19

INDIA SOYOIL                      FEB9    783.2   -0.10    783.2    783.95     300

NYMEX CRUDE                  MAR9    56.09   +0.00   55.82    56.39     749

Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne

CBOT soy oil in US 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 US dollars per barrel

Read more at http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/palm-gains-slightly-firm-export-data