MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Edges Lower, Posts Fourth Weekly Loss
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Edges Lower, Posts Fourth Weekly Loss
20/04/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Friday, posting a fourth straight weekly loss, as investors remained cautious in a volatile week that saw a broad sell-off across commodities.
Weak economic data from the United States and China raised concerns that slowing global growth could hurt demand, triggering a flight of capital this week from markets such as crude oil and gold.
Palm oil has also come under pressure after Malaysia's exports of the edible oil fell for the first 15 days in the month, with traders now pinning their hopes on a turnaround in the next set of export data, for April 1-20.
"Market sentiment remains weak and vulnerable. We need to wait for the next export numbers to see if there will be any support," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.6 percent to close at 2,294 ringgit ($756) per tonne. Prices fell to as low as 2,265 ringgit on Thursday, a level last seen on Dec. 14.
For the week, prices posted a 2.2 percent loss.
Total traded volumes stood at 21,308 lots of 25 tonnes each, lower than the average of 35,000 lots seen so far this year.
Technical analysis showed palm oil is expected to revisit its Thursday low of 2,265 ringgit per tonne, as it may have completed a rebound from this level, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
Palm oil shipments from Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer, fell 4 percent and 7.2 percent according to cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance, respectively.
Producers are counting on higher export demand to eat into stocks and support prices. Inventory fell to 2.17 million tonnes in March and could fall below the psychological 2-million-tonne mark this month if exports stay firm.
In other markets, oil prices climbed towards $100 a barrel on Friday, recovering some ground after a steep six-day fall, although worries about lower global demand and oversupply kept a lid on the rebound.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery edged down 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange edged up 0.3 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2284 -9.00 2270 2300 144
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2293 -11.00 2281 2317 3374
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2294 -13.00 2283 2321 14307
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6120 +46.00 6104 6158 458732
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7620 +24.00 7608 7666 618424
CBOT SOY OIL JUL3 49.44 -0.22 49.40 49.89 5518
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 88.66 +0.93 87.87 88.66 8025
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=3.04 ringgit)
Weak economic data from the United States and China raised concerns that slowing global growth could hurt demand, triggering a flight of capital this week from markets such as crude oil and gold.
Palm oil has also come under pressure after Malaysia's exports of the edible oil fell for the first 15 days in the month, with traders now pinning their hopes on a turnaround in the next set of export data, for April 1-20.
"Market sentiment remains weak and vulnerable. We need to wait for the next export numbers to see if there will be any support," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.6 percent to close at 2,294 ringgit ($756) per tonne. Prices fell to as low as 2,265 ringgit on Thursday, a level last seen on Dec. 14.
For the week, prices posted a 2.2 percent loss.
Total traded volumes stood at 21,308 lots of 25 tonnes each, lower than the average of 35,000 lots seen so far this year.
Technical analysis showed palm oil is expected to revisit its Thursday low of 2,265 ringgit per tonne, as it may have completed a rebound from this level, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
Palm oil shipments from Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer, fell 4 percent and 7.2 percent according to cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance, respectively.
Producers are counting on higher export demand to eat into stocks and support prices. Inventory fell to 2.17 million tonnes in March and could fall below the psychological 2-million-tonne mark this month if exports stay firm.
In other markets, oil prices climbed towards $100 a barrel on Friday, recovering some ground after a steep six-day fall, although worries about lower global demand and oversupply kept a lid on the rebound.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery edged down 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange edged up 0.3 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2284 -9.00 2270 2300 144
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2293 -11.00 2281 2317 3374
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2294 -13.00 2283 2321 14307
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6120 +46.00 6104 6158 458732
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7620 +24.00 7608 7666 618424
CBOT SOY OIL JUL3 49.44 -0.22 49.40 49.89 5518
NYMEX CRUDE MAY3 88.66 +0.93 87.87 88.66 8025
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=3.04 ringgit)