Malaysian palm oil price up from 6-week low on lower output expectations

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Thursday, recovering from the previous session's six-week low amid expectations of lower June production data and an uptick in Asian shares.
    Investors in the palm oil market are expecting the Malaysian
Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to report on Friday a drop in the
country's palm oil output and stockpiles in June from a month
ago. 
    Malaysian palm oil stocks are forecast to drop 5.4 percent
from a month ago to 2.12 million tonnes in June, according to a
Reuters survey of five planters, traders and analysts.
    "Chicago soybeans have firmed and everyone is expecting MPOB
numbers to show production and stocks declined in June," said
one Kuala Lumpur-based trader. 
    "But this is not a reversal, the market is likely to remain
under pressure from external factors, China's economic
conditions and demand could also slow down after Ramadan
festival."
    The September palm oil contract on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives exchange gained 1.1 percent, or 24 ringgit,
to 2,174 ringgit ($573.2) a tonne by 0712 GMT. 
    Traded volume in the first half of the session stood at
14,760 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the average
12,500 lots traded.
    Chicago soybean futures rose for a second session on
Thursday, underpinned by fresh concerns that excessive rains
could curb U.S. production. 
    Malaysian palm oil dropped to lowest since late May on
Wednesday as Chinese stocks tumbled and the Greek debt crisis
continued to hammer markets.
    An index of Asian shares reversed course and rose on
Thursday as a slide in battered Chinese stocks was stemmed, at
least temporarily, while the safe-haven yen was nudged off highs
scaled against the dollar. 
    On the technical front, palm oil has found a support around
2,139 ringgit and is expected to bounce to 2,182 ringgit.
    The support is provided by the 76.4 percent Fibonacci
retracement on the uptrend from the April 29 low of 2,070
ringgit to the June 8 high of 2,362 ringgit, according to Wang
Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities technicals. 
    In other markets, crude oil prices bounced following
losses earlier in the week. 
    U.S. soyoil was unchanged, while the most-active
soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange
added 0.3 percent.
($1 = 3.793 ringgit)    
  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0712 GMT
                                                                                               
  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      JUL5       0    +0.00       0       0       0
  MY PALM OIL      AUG5    2172   +24.00    2155    2174     647
  MY PALM OIL      SEP5    2174   +24.00    2157    2175    9655
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6    4792   -18.00    4522    4894 1170240
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN6    5548   +16.00    5202    5628  999486
  CBOT SOY OIL     DEC5   32.39    +1.90   31.94   32.55    9054
  INDIA PALM OIL   JUL5  432.80    +1.90  430.50  435.10     500
  INDIA SOYOIL     AUG5  576.50    +3.60  573.50  577.70   30550
  NYMEX CRUDE      AUG5   52.46    +0.81   51.48   52.69   19983
                                                                                               
  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
                        - Reuters