JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures edged down on Tuesday as traders took profits after a rally the day before and after Indonesia kept its palm oil export tax at zero for April.
By Tuesday's close the benchmark June contract on
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was down 1.19 percent at 2,165
ringgit ($585) a tonne. Total traded volume stood at 35,441 lots
of 25 tonnes, just above the daily average of 35,000 lots
traded.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in March rose 21.4
percent to 1.16 million tonnes from 953,053 tonnes shipped in
February, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) said on
Tuesday.
According to cargo surveyor Societe Generale de
Surveillance, Malaysian palm oil exports over the same period
rose 14.8 percent to 1,140,355 tonnes from 993,376 tonnes
shipped during February.
"Normally traders buy on rumours and sell on facts," said a
trader with foreign commodities brokerage, noting that the
increase in Malaysian palm oil exports had earlier been factored
into prices and that traders were concerned about Indonesia's
export tax remaining at zero.
The market is also focusing on Malaysia's plans to implement
a goods and services tax that is seen affecting shipments and
sales of the edible oil in April.
"A lot of the plantations are pushing their products out
this month. When it comes to April our exports are expected to
be weak," the trader said. "The GST will have a huge impact on
our whole economy."
While palm oil itself is exempt from the GST, exporters and
traders will need to apply for tax refunds from customs,
potentially reducing their operations' liquidity, he said.
"From crude to the refinery they can claim back, but the
process and duration for claims is unknown."
Golden Agri-Resources Ltd, the world's second
biggest oil palm planter by acreage, expects its palm and palm
kernel oil production to rise around 5 percent this year, coming
in at the lower end of a projected annual growth rate as dry
weather hurts yields, potentially providing some price support.
In other vegetable oils, the U.S. soyoil May contract
slipped 0.56 percent during late Asian trading, while the most
active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange lost 0.74 percent.
Brent crude oil dropped towards $55 a barrel on Tuesday as
Iran and six world powers entered a final day of talks over a
nuclear deal that could see the energy-rich country increase oil
exports to world markets.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1110 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL APR5 2136 -20.00 2132 2169 256
MY PALM OIL MAY5 2168 -28.00 2162 2187 2751
MY PALM OIL JUN5 2165 -26.00 2156 2182 20284
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP5 4644 -24.00 4632 4686 429164
CHINA SOYOIL SEP5 5352 -40.00 5342 5408 424180
CBOT SOY OIL MAY5 30.33 -0.70 30.32 30.48 4345
INDIA PALM OIL MAR5 434.30 -0.70 434.30 435.10 148
INDIA SOYOIL APR5 583.25 +0.55 580.50 585.50 14175
NYMEX CRUDE MAY5 47.73 -0.95 47.28 48.73 45127
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 = 6.2020 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 62.6450 Indian rupees)
($1 = 3.7020 ringgit)- Reuters
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