Asian share markets faced a testing time on Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst starting week in history and doubts over Beijing's policy choices sent investors into the arms of the safe-haven yen and sovereign bonds.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday to their lowest in over three weeks despite supportive government data, weighed down by plunging crude oil prices and volatile global equities.
The palm oil contract for March on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 1.5 percent to 2,398 ringgit ($547.49) per tonne at the close of trade. It hit an intra-day low of 2,383 ringgit, a low since Dec. 18.
Traded volume stood at 49,371 lots of 25 tonnes each.
It is likely the market fell because traders had already
factored in the expected fall in output, said a Kuala
Lumpur-based trader, referring to government data released by the
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).
"Despite the better than expected export data and lower
end-stocks, the market took a down turn as the available stocks
are enough to counter demand," he said.
"There are also worries about the plunge in worldwide
equities and crude oil."
Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, which was released
after the market paused for the midday break, showed a 1.1
percent fall in December exports compared with a Reuters poll
forecast of 6.6 percent.
Inventories and production also fell in December, dropping by
9.5 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively.
Cargo surveyors reported a rise in Malaysian exports for the
first 10 days of January compared with the same time period a
month ago. Intertek Testing Services (ITS) reported a 15.2
percent rise in Malaysian shipments, while Societe Generale de
Surveillance data showed a 7.9 percent increase.
Global equities fell to a near 2-1/2 year low on Monday,
while crude oil dropped close to 12-year lows, both triggered by
fears over China's slowing economic growth.
Palm oil is biased to retest a support at 2,416 ringgit per
tonne, with a good chance of breaking below this level and
falling more towards the next support at 2,394 ringgit, said Wang
Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities.
The U.S. March soyoil contract fell 0.7 percent,
while the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange was down 1.1 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1039 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JAN6 2274 -24.00 2274 2274 18
MY PALM OIL FEB6 2324 -33.00 2303 2374 2283
MY PALM OIL MAR6 2400 -37.00 2383 2453 30755
CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY6 4694 -46.00 4662 4750 1483374
CHINA SOYOIL MAY6 5576 -62.00 5566 5642 685554
CBOT SOY OIL MAR6 29.44 +1.60 29.44 29.85 6741
INDIA PALM OIL JAN6 413.00 +1.60 410.60 419.90 1414
INDIA SOYOIL JAN6 602.40 -0.90 602.00 608.00 18070
NYMEX CRUDE FEB6 32.49 -0.67 32.24 32.94 56625
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 = 4.3800 ringgit)
($1 = 66.7750 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.5720 Chinese yuan)
- Reuters
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