MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Rises to 3-week High as Output Worries Ease
VEGOILS-Palm Rises to 3-week High as Output Worries Ease
09/10/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose to their highest in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, posting three straight days of gains, after a market survey showed palm stocks and output in the world's No.2 producer may be lower than investors had initially feared.
A Reuters survey on Monday showed that Malaysian palm oil inventories may have climbed to a six-month high of 1.91 million tonnes at the end of September, lifted by a 15 percent surge in production.
Market players are wary that seasonally stronger output and quicker harvesting in September would trump export demand and lead to stockpiles that could quickly grow to record highs again.
"The market had been talking about huge crops, but maybe it might not materialize in September," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.
By Tuesday's close, the benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had inched up 1.4 percent to 2,351 ringgit ($735) per tonne. Prices had climbed to 2,353 ringgit, the highest since Sept. 17.
Trade was also more lively as Chinese markets, including the Dalian Commodities Exchange, resumed trading after a week-long national holiday, traders said.
Total traded volume stood at 31,954 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared with the average 35,000 lots.
Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil had climbed above the Oct. 2 high of 2,334 ringgit, and may keep on rising towards 2,401 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
In competing markets, the U.S. soybean market registered modest gains in the past few sessions, finding support after private analytics firm Informa Economics lowered its estimate for U.S. production of the oilseed.
Tighter supply of soybeans for crushing into soyoil could shift demand to palm oil, a rival vegetable oil.
The U.S. soyoil contract for December rose 0.7 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.4
percent.
In other markets, Brent crude oil held above $109 a barrel on Tuesday as the oil supply outlook improved and the U.S. budget crisis continued to cloud the outlook for demand in the world's biggest oil consumer.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1006 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL OCT3 2350 +0.00 2346 2364 238
MY PALM OIL NOV3 2353 +31.00 2334 2353 3969
MY PALM OIL DEC3 2351 +33.00 2332 2353 15639
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN4 5500 +108.00 5380 5556 444452
CHINA SOYOIL JAN4 7000 +30.00 6918 7044 518356
CBOT SOY OIL DEC3 40.17 +0.27 39.91 40.48 10707
NYMEX CRUDE NOV3 103.82 +0.79 102.85 103.84 13581
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=3.199 Malaysian ringgit)
A Reuters survey on Monday showed that Malaysian palm oil inventories may have climbed to a six-month high of 1.91 million tonnes at the end of September, lifted by a 15 percent surge in production.
Market players are wary that seasonally stronger output and quicker harvesting in September would trump export demand and lead to stockpiles that could quickly grow to record highs again.
"The market had been talking about huge crops, but maybe it might not materialize in September," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.
By Tuesday's close, the benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had inched up 1.4 percent to 2,351 ringgit ($735) per tonne. Prices had climbed to 2,353 ringgit, the highest since Sept. 17.
Trade was also more lively as Chinese markets, including the Dalian Commodities Exchange, resumed trading after a week-long national holiday, traders said.
Total traded volume stood at 31,954 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared with the average 35,000 lots.
Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil had climbed above the Oct. 2 high of 2,334 ringgit, and may keep on rising towards 2,401 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
In competing markets, the U.S. soybean market registered modest gains in the past few sessions, finding support after private analytics firm Informa Economics lowered its estimate for U.S. production of the oilseed.
Tighter supply of soybeans for crushing into soyoil could shift demand to palm oil, a rival vegetable oil.
The U.S. soyoil contract for December rose 0.7 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.4
percent.
In other markets, Brent crude oil held above $109 a barrel on Tuesday as the oil supply outlook improved and the U.S. budget crisis continued to cloud the outlook for demand in the world's biggest oil consumer.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1006 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL OCT3 2350 +0.00 2346 2364 238
MY PALM OIL NOV3 2353 +31.00 2334 2353 3969
MY PALM OIL DEC3 2351 +33.00 2332 2353 15639
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN4 5500 +108.00 5380 5556 444452
CHINA SOYOIL JAN4 7000 +30.00 6918 7044 518356
CBOT SOY OIL DEC3 40.17 +0.27 39.91 40.48 10707
NYMEX CRUDE NOV3 103.82 +0.79 102.85 103.84 13581
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=3.199 Malaysian ringgit)