News
14.10.2009
Malaysian palm oil futures slightly up
Malaysian palm oil futures ended 0.5 percent higher on Tuesday, easing from more than two-week highs hit earlier on profit-taking, although a crude oil rally and recovering exports kept sentiment up. Prices of palm oil had been on the decline in the last two weeks but regained momentum after rumours of strong exports surfaced on Friday.
The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 31 ringgit to 2,178 ringgit ($642.5) a tonne, a level unseen since September 25, before settling up 10 ringgit at 2,157 ringgit by the close. The market briefly hit the 200-day moving average at 2,173 ringgit, a long-term indicator that suggests fundamentals are turning bullish for investors, traders said.
Market participants took heart from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reporting an 8.3 percent jump in Malaysia's October 1-10 palm oil exports over the weekend, which they say could put pressure on stockpiles this month. Another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports for the same period rose 3.9 percent to 345,393 tonnes.
Better exports and rising palm oil futures market saw Malaysia's spot refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm olein narrow its discount to rival Argentine soyoil by $10 a tonne to $94 from last week, traders said. Other vegetable oil futures markets took on a positive tone after crude oil rose for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, edging above $73 a barrel.
The most active May 2010 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange, which leads the vegetable oil markets in Asia, edged higher. But US soyoil for October delivery dropped 1.5 percent in Asian trade as traders took profits after prices gained on the crude rally and concerns that cold weather in the US cropping belt could hurt output.
INDONESIA PALM TRADES: In Indonesia, the state marketing centre based in Jakarta sold 8,500 tonnes of palm oil at a top price of 6,587 rupiah ($0.697) per kg against 6,543 rupiah a day ago. Producers in Medan, home to Indonesia's main palm oil export port of Belawan, sold palm oil at 6,529-6,590 rupiah per kg.
Reuters
