VEGOILS-Palm falls for third day on hopes of higher Feb end-stocks
02.03.2021 (in.investing.com) -
* Palm hits lowest since Feb. 24
* Market pegs higher Feb output
* Feb exports down 4.6% month-on-month – SGS
(Updates with closing prices)
By Mei Mei Chu
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell over 1% for a third straight session on Tuesday, slipping to a one-week low on expectations that inventories would rise due to a drop in exports and rising output.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 44 ringgit, or 1.19%, to 3,640 ringgit ($897.21) a tonne, hitting its lowest since Feb. 24.
"The combination of higher production and lower export in Malaysia brought sellers and long liquidation," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for February fell 4.6% to 1,052,779 tonnes from January as China and the United States cut down purchases, cargo surveyor Societe Generale (PA: SOGN ) de Surveillance said. Union palm oil imports in the 2020/21 season stood at 3.69 million tonnes, compared with 3.78 million a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed. may continue to weaken as February-end inventories are likely to rise sharply, the trader said.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board is slated to release data on February-end stockpiles on March 10.
Meanwhile, Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 0.8%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 slipped 3.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.2%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
($1 = 4.0570 ringgit)