VEGOILS-Palm oil hovering around 8-month highs as stronger rivals offset lower exports
12/03/2024 (Nasdaq), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian palm oil futures were little changed on Tuesday after closing at near 8-month highs in the previous session, as stronger rival oils and crude oil prices offset a decline in exports.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 4 ringgit, or 0.10%, to 4,135 ringgit ($883.92) during early trade.
The contract closed at its highest levels since July 24, 2023 on Monday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 0.5%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 added 0.39%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.21%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Oil prices rose in early Asian trading, but price moves were limited as the market waited for monthly reports from oil agencies. O/R
* Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
* Malaysia's palm oil stocks at the end of February dwindled to their lowest levels in seven months as production hit a 10-month low, offsetting the slowdown in exports, the industry regulator said on Monday.
* Inventories at the end of February fell 5% from the previous month to 1.92 million metric tons, crude palm oil production declined 10.18% to 1.26 million tons, while exports plunged 24.75% to 1.02 million tons, data from industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed.
* Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-10 rose 6.8% to 382,640 tons from 358,365 tons shipped during the previous month, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.
* Another cargo surveyor, AmSpec Agri Malaysia, said exports during the same period rose 6.2% from a month ago to 325,543 tons.
* Palm oil may rise into 4,190-4,242 ringgit per metric ton, as it has resumed its uptrend within a rising channel, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks nudged higher on Tuesday ahead of the influential U.S. inflation report, while Japanese shares fell and the yen firmed on rising expectations that the Bank of Japan may be ready to exit ultra easy-monetary policy as early as next week. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS
0700 Germany HICP Final YY Feb
0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Feb
0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan
0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Feb
1230 US Core CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA Feb
1230 US CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA Feb
1230 US CPI Wage Earner Feb
($1 = 4.6780 ringgit)
Source: Reuters