VEGOILS-Palm set for 5% weekly fall as exports slow, inventories rise
17.04.2020 (TODAYonline) - KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (REUTERS) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Friday, but they are on track for a 5% weekly fall on persisting worries about rising stockpiles and lower exports due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.
The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 6 ringgit, or 0.27%, to 2,210 ringgit ($508.05) per tonne by 0250 GMT.
Palm fell 1.6% in the previous session to close at a more than six-month low after Malaysia delayed its nationwide adoption of the B20 biodiesel mandate.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Oil prices rose, with Brent gaining nearly 3%, after U.S. President Donald Trump laid out guidelines on reviving a U.S. economy ravaged by the pandemic. A stronger crude make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
* China's economy shrank for the first time since at least 1992 in the first quarter, as the pandemic paralysed production and spending in the world's second-largest palm buyer.
* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 1.8%, while its palm oil contract tumbled 2.2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.07%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Palm oil may break a support at 2,198 ringgit per tonne, and fall to 2,165 ringgit, as suggested by a projection analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks look set to bounce towards a one-month high as investors, following Wall Street's lead overnight, sought silver linings in a run of data that showed the world is in its worst recession in decades.
DATA/EVENTS
0200 China Urban Investment (YTD) YY March
0200 China Industrial Output YY March
0200 China Retail Sales YY March
0200 China GDP YY Q1
0900 EU HICP Final MM, YY March
The International Monetary Fund hosts its annual spring meeting with the World Bank virtually ($1 = 4.3500 ringgit) REUTERS
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