MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Down To Near 2-Wk Low on Uncertain Overseas Markets, China Bird Flu Worries
VEGOILS-Palm Down To Near 2-Wk Low on Uncertain Overseas Markets, China Bird Flu Worries
13/04/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures dropped to a near two-week low in choppy trade on Friday, with no clear guidance from overseas markets and investors worried a bird flu outbreak in China could crimp demand from the world's second largest edible oil buyer.
Investors and analysts said an escalation of the H7N9 bird flu outbreak in eastern China, where the death toll has hit 10 victims, could spark a potential slowdown in feed demand and negatively affect commodities, including palm oil.
"Soybean is one of the key ingredients in chicken feed and China is among the world's biggest grains buyer," Phillip Futures said in a note on Friday. "If H7N9 gets much (more) serious, commodities market might be affected."
The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.3 percent to 2,345 ringgit ($770) per tonne by Friday's close, posting its third straight weekly loss with a decline of 0.6 percent this week. Prices were rangebound between 2,336 and 2,367 ringgit, touching a low unseen since April 1.
Total traded volumes were thin at 23,752 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the average 35,000 lots.
Traders were also slightly anxious that bullish inventory and export data in March could mean palm oil stocks are bottoming out in Malaysia, the No.2 producer of the tropical oil, and higher stockpiles could return in the coming months.
Official data on Wednesday showed that stocks in the southeast Asian country declined a steeper than expected 10.9 percent in March to 2.17 million tonnes, from 2.43 tonnes in February.
The market is stuck in a tight range. There is minimum movement in overseas markets, and at the same time the Dalian is down slightly -- there's (also) a bit of worry about the bird flu in China," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
In other markets, Brent crude oil sank to an eight-month low under $103 a barrel on Friday as the outlook for global oil demand growth dimmed, although an improvement in U.S. jobs data put a floor under prices.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery was almost flat in late Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange fell 0.7 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1008 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL APR3 0 +0.00 0 0 0
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2329 -12.00 2318 2348 1848
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2345 -8.00 2336 2367 13492
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6326 -12.00 6268 6338 476378
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7842 -56.00 7818 7878 611780
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 49.78 +0.01 49.58 50.00 6629
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 92.45 -1.06 92.25 93.52 22492
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
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1=3.044 ringgit)
Investors and analysts said an escalation of the H7N9 bird flu outbreak in eastern China, where the death toll has hit 10 victims, could spark a potential slowdown in feed demand and negatively affect commodities, including palm oil.
"Soybean is one of the key ingredients in chicken feed and China is among the world's biggest grains buyer," Phillip Futures said in a note on Friday. "If H7N9 gets much (more) serious, commodities market might be affected."
The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.3 percent to 2,345 ringgit ($770) per tonne by Friday's close, posting its third straight weekly loss with a decline of 0.6 percent this week. Prices were rangebound between 2,336 and 2,367 ringgit, touching a low unseen since April 1.
Total traded volumes were thin at 23,752 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the average 35,000 lots.
Traders were also slightly anxious that bullish inventory and export data in March could mean palm oil stocks are bottoming out in Malaysia, the No.2 producer of the tropical oil, and higher stockpiles could return in the coming months.
Official data on Wednesday showed that stocks in the southeast Asian country declined a steeper than expected 10.9 percent in March to 2.17 million tonnes, from 2.43 tonnes in February.
The market is stuck in a tight range. There is minimum movement in overseas markets, and at the same time the Dalian is down slightly -- there's (also) a bit of worry about the bird flu in China," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
In other markets, Brent crude oil sank to an eight-month low under $103 a barrel on Friday as the outlook for global oil demand growth dimmed, although an improvement in U.S. jobs data put a floor under prices.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery was almost flat in late Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange fell 0.7 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1008 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL APR3 0 +0.00 0 0 0
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2329 -12.00 2318 2348 1848
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2345 -8.00 2336 2367 13492
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6326 -12.00 6268 6338 476378
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7842 -56.00 7818 7878 611780
CBOT SOY OIL MAY3 49.78 +0.01 49.58 50.00 6629
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 92.45 -1.06 92.25 93.52 22492
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
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1=3.044 ringgit)