Yahoo News (01/04/2020) - KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday, tracking weaker rival oils, and on growing concerns over demand as more countries self-isolate against the coronavirus outbreak.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 23 ringgit, or 0.92%, to 2,381 ringgit ($553.72) per tonne by 0241 GMT, after Tuesday's 1.6% drop.

Palm oil gained 3.6% last month, buoyed by supply concerns as Malaysia imposed a one-month restriction on movement and ordered some palm operations to close until mid-April.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysia's palm oil exports in March rose between 6.1% and 6.9% from a month earlier, cargo surveyors said on Tuesday.

* However, worries over demand deepened as countries around the world, including key buyers India and the European Union, stayed in lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

* Life in China, the second-largest palm buyer, is slowly returning to normal but a private survey showed a bare minimal growth in factory activity, highlighting the intense pressure facing businesses as Beijing guards against a second wave of infections.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 1.7%, while its palm oil contract dropped 1.78%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.41%.

* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Palm oil may revisit its March 30 high of 2,466 ringgit per tonne, as it has cleared a resistance at 2,387 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares faced another leg lower as the coronavirus sharply slows global growth, leading a gauge of world stocks to post its biggest quarterly decline in more than a decade and oil prices to trade near lows last seen in 2002.

DATA/EVENTS

0030 Australia Building Approvals Feb

0145 China Caixin Mfg PMI Final March

0750 France Markit Mfg PMI March

0755 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI March

0800 EU Markit Mfg Final PMI March

0830 UK Markit/CIPS Mfg PMI Final March

0900 EU Unemployment Rate Feb

1345 US Markit Mfg PMI Final March

1445 US ISM Manufacturing PMI March ($1 = 4.3000 ringgit)

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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