MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Drops for 3rd Day on Weak Exports, Firm Currency
VEGOILS-Palm Oil Drops for 3rd Day on Weak Exports, Firm Currency
16/05/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, as weak exports and a firm ringgit currency stirred doubts about the strength of demand for the edible oil.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for the first 15 days of May fell 7.6 percent to 599,300 tonnes from 648,275 tonnes shipped during the same period a month ago, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) said.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a smaller decline of 3 percent for the same period.
A firmer ringgit also dampened buying interest as it makes ringgit-priced crude palm oil more expensive for overseas buyers and reduced refiners' margins. The currency rose above the 3-ringgit mark against the dollar after Malaysian general elections on May 5.
"We continue to see a downtrend in terms of exports, which is bearish for the market," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
"But on the bright side, the decline is slightly less than the first 10 days and we will have to see if exports will recover in the second half of the month."
Shipments fell 16.7 percent in the first 10 days of May from a month ago, according to ITS.
At market close, the benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.3 percent at 2,296 ringgit ($763) per tonne, after trading between 2,277 and 2,299 ringgit.
Total traded volumes stood at 42,201 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 35,000 lots.
Malaysia, the world's No.2 palm oil producer, will set its crude palm oil export tax for June at 4.5 percent, flat with May, a government circular showed.
Official data showed the country's palm oil stocks fell to 1.93 million tonnes at the end of April, below the psychological two-million-tonne mark and sending the market to a one-month high on Monday, although prices came off on worries over lacklustre export demand.
In other markets, Brent futures slipped towards $102 a barrel on Wednesday on concerns about rising supplies from the United States and a bleak outlook for global demand growth.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery fell 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 2.5 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2280 +0.00 2280 2280 40
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2295 +3.00 2268 2298 1349
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2296 -6.00 2277 2299 20490
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 5954 -174.00 5934 6120 716102
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7334 -190.00 7320 7508 1062826
CBOT SOY OIL JUL3 49.59 -0.17 49.36 49.78 7731
NYMEX CRUDE JUN3 93.66 -0.55 93.44 94.43 20087
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=3.002 ringgit)
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for the first 15 days of May fell 7.6 percent to 599,300 tonnes from 648,275 tonnes shipped during the same period a month ago, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) said.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a smaller decline of 3 percent for the same period.
A firmer ringgit also dampened buying interest as it makes ringgit-priced crude palm oil more expensive for overseas buyers and reduced refiners' margins. The currency rose above the 3-ringgit mark against the dollar after Malaysian general elections on May 5.
"We continue to see a downtrend in terms of exports, which is bearish for the market," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
"But on the bright side, the decline is slightly less than the first 10 days and we will have to see if exports will recover in the second half of the month."
Shipments fell 16.7 percent in the first 10 days of May from a month ago, according to ITS.
At market close, the benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.3 percent at 2,296 ringgit ($763) per tonne, after trading between 2,277 and 2,299 ringgit.
Total traded volumes stood at 42,201 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 35,000 lots.
Malaysia, the world's No.2 palm oil producer, will set its crude palm oil export tax for June at 4.5 percent, flat with May, a government circular showed.
Official data showed the country's palm oil stocks fell to 1.93 million tonnes at the end of April, below the psychological two-million-tonne mark and sending the market to a one-month high on Monday, although prices came off on worries over lacklustre export demand.
In other markets, Brent futures slipped towards $102 a barrel on Wednesday on concerns about rising supplies from the United States and a bleak outlook for global demand growth.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery fell 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 2.5 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2280 +0.00 2280 2280 40
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2295 +3.00 2268 2298 1349
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2296 -6.00 2277 2299 20490
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 5954 -174.00 5934 6120 716102
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7334 -190.00 7320 7508 1062826
CBOT SOY OIL JUL3 49.59 -0.17 49.36 49.78 7731
NYMEX CRUDE JUN3 93.66 -0.55 93.44 94.43 20087
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=3.002 ringgit)