SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday to its highest in more than one week with prices underpinned by expectations that excessive monsoon rains would derail supplies amid strong demand.
Investors in the palm oil market are keeping a close watch on the weather
with forecasts calling for widespread rains and flooding in parts of Malaysia,
the world's second largest producer.
"It is getting bad to worse on the production front as in some areas it has
been raining continuously for days, which will disrupt production," said one
Kuala Lumpur-based trader.
"We expect prices in the first quarter of 2015 to trade around 2,200 ringgit
to 2,300 ringgit a tonne."
The benchmark March crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange rose 1.7 percent to 2,208 ringgit ($632) per tonne by
Tuesday's close. It climbed to an intra-day high of 2,215 ringgit a tonne, its
highest since Dec. 12.
Traded volume stood at 38,599 lots of 25 tonnes, above the usual 35,000
lots.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported exports of Malaysian palm
products for Dec. 1-20 rose 8.8 percent to 911,595 tonnes, compared with the
same period a month earlier, as demand from Europe, China and India picked up.
Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance showed exports rose
7.5 percent for the same period.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's meteorological department on Tuesday issued a "red
stage" warning for the states of Terengganu and Pahang where heavy rains are
expected to drag on until Wednesday.
Thunderstorms are also forecast for most parts of the country, where about
35 percent of the world's oil palm is grown.
Prolonged heavy rains lead to floods which complicate harvesting and
transportation of palm fruit. Flooding in the eastern coast of Terengganu,
Kelantan, and Pahang has already displaced around 35,000 people, according to
Malaysian media reports.
"Investors are reluctant to sell on flood fears, especially during
pre-holiday sessions," said a second Kuala Lumpur-based palm oil trader.
Still, the rally in palm oil prices could be capped by losses in the energy
market as it competes with crude oil on increasing use of vegetable oils in
making renewable fuels.
Brent crude steadied around $60 a barrel on Tuesday, under pressure from a
supply glut but supported by forecasts of stronger economic data from the United
States, the world's biggest oil consumer.
In competing vegetable oil markets, the most active May soybean oil contract
on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.3 percent in late Asian trade,
while the U.S. soyoil contract for March gained 0.4 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1024 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JAN5 2209 +38.00 2179 2212 834
MY PALM OIL FEB5 2210 +40.00 2163 2215 3942
MY PALM OIL MAR5 2208 +37.00 2160 2215 21502
CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY5 4924 -10.00 4916 4950 385620
CHINA SOYOIL MAY5 5618 -14.00 5610 5648 230524
CBOT SOY OIL MAR5 32.30 +3.80 32.10 32.42 4191
INDIA PALM OIL DEC4 422.70 +3.80 419.00 423.80 565
INDIA SOYOIL JAN5 608.50 +6.30 603.00 609.40 33985
NYMEX CRUDE FEB5 55.91 +0.65 55.31 56.85 29712
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 = 3.495 Malaysian ringgit)
($1 = 6.2260 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 63.36 Indian rupee)- Reuetrs
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