MARKET DEVELOPMENT
VEGOILS-Palm Slips for First Time in 6 Days, But Notches 3rd Weekly Gain
VEGOILS-Palm Slips for First Time in 6 Days, But Notches 3rd Weekly Gain
(Updates prices)
* Palm futures up 1.2 pct on the week
* Malaysian ringgit hits four-month low after central bank holds rates
* Palm oil to retrace to 2,060 ringgit -technicals
* Bigger export demand, weaker Sept production to keep stockpiles in check -trader
20/09/2014 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Friday, tracking lower overseas soy markets and ending a five-day winning streak, but optimism for firm demand and a fragile ringgit prevented steeper losses to help palm notch its third straight weekly gain.
The December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell to as low as 2,105 ringgit in late trading after soyoil markets in the United States and China eased, and as a bout of mild technical correction pressured the tropical oil, traders said.
The U.S. soyoil contract for December edged down 0.5 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange dropped 2.1 percent.
The benchmark palm prices closed 1.7 percent lower at 2,109 ringgit ($652) per tonne.
"Prices went up sharply in the last two-and-a-half weeks, so there's a little bit of correction downwards," said a trader with a foreign commodities firm in Kuala Lumpur.
"The market is still waiting for fresh leads, and will now wait for the full month exports, which should be very much better than last month," the trader added.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services will release Malaysian palm export data for Sept. 1-20 on Saturday, while Societe Generale de Surveillance will report for same period on Sept. 22.
The ringgit hit a four-month low on Friday, falling as much as 0.6 percent to 3.2470 per dollar and leading the losses among emerging Asian currencies, after Malaysia's central bank kept interest rates unchanged.
A weaker ringgit makes palm feedstock more attractive for overseas buyers and refiners.
Total traded volume on Friday stood at 60,700 lots of 25 tonnes each, nearly double the daily average of 35,000 lots.
Technicals, however, were bearish. Palm oil failed to break resistance at 2,150 ringgit per tonne and is expected to fall to a support at 2,060 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
For the week, palm prices gained 1.2 percent to record their third weekly rise after falling continuously for four weeks in a row.
Market players anticipate demand for Malaysian palm oil to stay robust for the rest of the month after export taxes for the crude grade were scrapped for September and October.
Exports of Malaysian palm between Sept. 1 and Sept. 15 jumped about 180,000 tonnes from a month earlier, with demand for crude palm oil surging.
Additionally, traders and millers expect production in the No.2 grower to fall this month, after surging 22 percent to 2.03 million tonnes in August.
"We anticipate production to drop between 7-8 percent. With that, the stocks won't be rising as much as expected before," the Kuala Lumpur-based trader added. "The new export tax made a lot of difference."
In other markets, Brent crude slipped towards $97 a barrel on Friday, not far above 26-month lows reached at the start of the week, as OPEC talk of a production cut failed to calm market nerves about ample supply at a time of fragile demand.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1011 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL OCT4 2138 -32.00 2130 2157 1539
MY PALM OIL NOV4 2107 -37.00 2106 2135 11177
MY PALM OIL DEC4 2109 -36.00 2105 2135 24471
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN5 5196 -72.00 5182 5262 557042
CHINA SOYOIL JAN5 5942 -130.00 5942 6014 429690
CBOT SOY OIL DEC4 32.74 -0.10 32.66 33.00 6043
INDIA PALM OIL SEP4 459.00 -0.10 456.20 461.00 357
INDIA SOYOIL SEP4 643.00 +0.45 642.00 643.50 995
NYMEX CRUDE OCT4 92.89 -0.18 92.34 93.17 4935
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
India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1 = 3.231 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.1405 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 60.87 Indian rupees)
* Palm futures up 1.2 pct on the week
* Malaysian ringgit hits four-month low after central bank holds rates
* Palm oil to retrace to 2,060 ringgit -technicals
* Bigger export demand, weaker Sept production to keep stockpiles in check -trader
20/09/2014 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Friday, tracking lower overseas soy markets and ending a five-day winning streak, but optimism for firm demand and a fragile ringgit prevented steeper losses to help palm notch its third straight weekly gain.
The December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell to as low as 2,105 ringgit in late trading after soyoil markets in the United States and China eased, and as a bout of mild technical correction pressured the tropical oil, traders said.
The U.S. soyoil contract for December edged down 0.5 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange dropped 2.1 percent.
The benchmark palm prices closed 1.7 percent lower at 2,109 ringgit ($652) per tonne.
"Prices went up sharply in the last two-and-a-half weeks, so there's a little bit of correction downwards," said a trader with a foreign commodities firm in Kuala Lumpur.
"The market is still waiting for fresh leads, and will now wait for the full month exports, which should be very much better than last month," the trader added.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services will release Malaysian palm export data for Sept. 1-20 on Saturday, while Societe Generale de Surveillance will report for same period on Sept. 22.
The ringgit hit a four-month low on Friday, falling as much as 0.6 percent to 3.2470 per dollar and leading the losses among emerging Asian currencies, after Malaysia's central bank kept interest rates unchanged.
A weaker ringgit makes palm feedstock more attractive for overseas buyers and refiners.
Total traded volume on Friday stood at 60,700 lots of 25 tonnes each, nearly double the daily average of 35,000 lots.
Technicals, however, were bearish. Palm oil failed to break resistance at 2,150 ringgit per tonne and is expected to fall to a support at 2,060 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
For the week, palm prices gained 1.2 percent to record their third weekly rise after falling continuously for four weeks in a row.
Market players anticipate demand for Malaysian palm oil to stay robust for the rest of the month after export taxes for the crude grade were scrapped for September and October.
Exports of Malaysian palm between Sept. 1 and Sept. 15 jumped about 180,000 tonnes from a month earlier, with demand for crude palm oil surging.
Additionally, traders and millers expect production in the No.2 grower to fall this month, after surging 22 percent to 2.03 million tonnes in August.
"We anticipate production to drop between 7-8 percent. With that, the stocks won't be rising as much as expected before," the Kuala Lumpur-based trader added. "The new export tax made a lot of difference."
In other markets, Brent crude slipped towards $97 a barrel on Friday, not far above 26-month lows reached at the start of the week, as OPEC talk of a production cut failed to calm market nerves about ample supply at a time of fragile demand.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1011 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL OCT4 2138 -32.00 2130 2157 1539
MY PALM OIL NOV4 2107 -37.00 2106 2135 11177
MY PALM OIL DEC4 2109 -36.00 2105 2135 24471
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN5 5196 -72.00 5182 5262 557042
CHINA SOYOIL JAN5 5942 -130.00 5942 6014 429690
CBOT SOY OIL DEC4 32.74 -0.10 32.66 33.00 6043
INDIA PALM OIL SEP4 459.00 -0.10 456.20 461.00 357
INDIA SOYOIL SEP4 643.00 +0.45 642.00 643.50 995
NYMEX CRUDE OCT4 92.89 -0.18 92.34 93.17 4935
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
India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1 = 3.231 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.1405 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 60.87 Indian rupees)