MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Palm Oil Futures Trade Near Six-Week High on Demand Outlook
Palm Oil Futures Trade Near Six-Week High on Demand Outlook
27/05/2013 (Bloomberg) - Palm oil traded near the highest level in six weeks on speculation that demand may increase ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, boosting exports from Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer.
The contract for August delivery was little changed at 2,368 ringgit ($781) a metric ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives at the midday break in Kuala Lumpur. Futures closed at 2,371 ringgit on May 23, the highest level for the most active contract since April 10.
Purchases from the Middle East and South Asia usually climb before Ramadan, which starts in July this year, when communal meals boost total consumption. Shipments from Malaysia fell 5.2 percent to 1.06 million tons in the first 25 days of May from the same period in April, surveyor Intertek said May 25. That compares with a 9.4 percent drop in the first 20 days of this month and a 17 percent decline in the first 10 days.
“People are expecting fresh buying,” Rajesh Modi, a trader at Sprint Exim Pte., said by phone from Singapore. “After June 15, exports will be at a much higher pace” as Ramadan demand picks up, he said.
Demand from China may continue to rebound as the weather gets warmer, state-owned researcher Grain.gov.cn said in an e-mail today. Inventories of palm oil stored in the country’s major ports totaled 1.36 million tons, compared with 1.35 million tons a week earlier, it said.
Refined palm oil for September delivery was little changed at 6,110 yuan ($997) a ton on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, while soybean oil fell 0.3 percent to 7,508 yuan.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans for July delivery closed 1.6 percent lower at $14.7625 a bushel on May 24 and soybean oil for the same month lost 0.9 percent to 49.24 cents a pound. The market is closed today for a holiday.
The contract for August delivery was little changed at 2,368 ringgit ($781) a metric ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives at the midday break in Kuala Lumpur. Futures closed at 2,371 ringgit on May 23, the highest level for the most active contract since April 10.
Purchases from the Middle East and South Asia usually climb before Ramadan, which starts in July this year, when communal meals boost total consumption. Shipments from Malaysia fell 5.2 percent to 1.06 million tons in the first 25 days of May from the same period in April, surveyor Intertek said May 25. That compares with a 9.4 percent drop in the first 20 days of this month and a 17 percent decline in the first 10 days.
“People are expecting fresh buying,” Rajesh Modi, a trader at Sprint Exim Pte., said by phone from Singapore. “After June 15, exports will be at a much higher pace” as Ramadan demand picks up, he said.
Demand from China may continue to rebound as the weather gets warmer, state-owned researcher Grain.gov.cn said in an e-mail today. Inventories of palm oil stored in the country’s major ports totaled 1.36 million tons, compared with 1.35 million tons a week earlier, it said.
Refined palm oil for September delivery was little changed at 6,110 yuan ($997) a ton on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, while soybean oil fell 0.3 percent to 7,508 yuan.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans for July delivery closed 1.6 percent lower at $14.7625 a bushel on May 24 and soybean oil for the same month lost 0.9 percent to 49.24 cents a pound. The market is closed today for a holiday.