VEGOILS-Palm oil firms as crude rebounds on positive signals from Trump doctors
05.10.2020 (www.todayonline.com) - KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 - Malaysian palm oil futures tracked rebound in oil prices on Monday after doctors for U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could be discharged from hospital soon, a few days after his COVID-19 results sparked widespread alarm.
Doctors treating Trump say they are pleased with his progress. Relief about his health could fuel a rally in equities and other risky assets as investors prepare for the run-up to next month's U.S. presidential election.
The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 14 ringgit, or 0.52%, to 2,722 ringgit ($654.96) a tonne during early trade.
Palm fell 2.9% in the previous session after news of Trump contracting the novel coronavirus sent crude prices tumbling.
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Oil prices rose more than 1%, lifted by comments from doctors for Trump suggesting he could be discharged from hospital as soon as Monday.
* Malaysia, the No. 2 palm producer in the world, has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases last week and on Saturday reported the highest daily rise since it began tracking the pandemic.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Saturday adjusted Malaysia's crude palm oil production for the 2020/21 season down 1 million tonnes to 19.7 million tonnes due to labour shortage and disruptions caused by the pandemic.
* Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.19%. The Dalian exchange was closed for a public holiday.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Palm oil looks neutral in a range of 2,681 to 2,726 ringgit per tonne, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
MARKET NEWS
* Stock markets rose on Monday on hopes that President Donald Trump could be discharged from hospital later in the day, easing some of the political uncertainty that shook global bourses in the previous session.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0030 Japan Services PMI
0600 UK Reserve Assets Total
0750 France Markit Serv, Comp PMIs
0755 Germany Markit Services PMI
0755 Germany Markit Comp Final PMI
0800 EU Markit Serv, Comp Final PMIs
1345 US Markit Serv, Comp Final PMIs
1400 US ISM N-Mfg PMI
($1 = 4.1560 ringgit) REUTERS