Palm edges lower on lacklustre Malaysian export data

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second day on Monday, as a modest rise in Malaysian palm oil export figures in the first half of December and weakness in the ringgit were offset by weakness in crude oil prices.
    The benchmark February contract on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.14 percent lower at 2,163
ringgit ($619) per tonne, the contract's second day of declines
after it slipped 1.1 percent on Friday. 
    Total traded volume stood at 41,447 lots of 25 tonnes, above
the daily average of 35,000 lots traded.
    "The numbers are not exciting," a trader with a foreign
commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur told Reuters, referring to
Malaysian export data released on Monday.
    Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported exports of
Malaysian palm oil products for Dec. 1-15 rose 2.9 percent to
615,805 tonnes from 598,269 tonnes shipped during Nov. 1-15.
 
    Later figures from cargo exporter Societe Generale de
Surveillance showed exports of Malaysian palm oil products for
Dec. 1-15 rose 2.1 percent to 618,134 tonnes from 605,624 tonnes
shipped during Nov. 1-15. 
    "There should be (a) higher improvement given the weakness
of the ringgit," another trader told Reuters, adding he had
expected December exports to be higher.
    The Malaysian ringgit has dropped more than 4 percent
in December and was trading at 3.495 on Monday afternoon. A
weaker rinngit makes Malaysian palm oil cheaper for overseas
buyers.
    "The market's trading in a tight range," the second trader
said.
    Technicals showed palm oil is expected to consolidate in a
range of 2,165-2,194 ringgit per tonne for one trading session
before seeking its next direction, said Reuters market analyst
Wang Tao. 
    
    Thailand's PTT PCL on Monday said it would sell its
palm oil business in Indonesia by June next year, as the top
Thai energy company moves to divest non-core operations.
 
    In other markets, Brent crude hit a fresh five-year low
close to $60 a barrel on Monday after oil producer group OPEC
restated its determination not to cut output despite a global
fuel glut, but the North Sea benchmark later rallied to trade
around $63. 
    In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract
for January edged down 0.12 percent in early Asian trade,
while the most active May soybean oil contract on the
Dalian Commodities Exchange slipped 0.11 percent.
    
 Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1040 GMT
                                                                
 Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
 MY PALM OIL      DEC4       0    +0.00       0       0       0
 MY PALM OIL      JAN5    2150    -7.00    2150    2166     686
 MY PALM OIL      FEB5    2163    -3.00    2154    2188   16833
 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5    5028    +0.00    4992    5050  797124
 CHINA SOYOIL     MAY5    5690    -6.00    5664    5720  342672
 CBOT SOY OIL     JAN5   32.28    +2.70   32.21   32.43    6826
 INDIA PALM OIL   DEC4  420.80    +2.70  417.00  422.80     484
 INDIA SOYOIL     DEC4  580.25    +0.20  571.00  581.20    7815
 NYMEX CRUDE      JAN5   58.14    +0.33   56.25   58.73   63899
                                                                
 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 = 3.4950 ringgit)
($1 = 6.1900 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 62.9000 Indian rupee)- Reuters