Sime Darby was among the top losers as crude palm oil futures fell
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Thursday to reverse its morning session of gains as demand for the vegetable oil wanes on slowing exports.
The palm oil contract for March on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.4 percent to 2,402 ringgit ($547.15) per tonne at the end of the trading day. Traded volume stood at 54,111 lots of 25 tonnes each.
Palm oil's direction has been uncertain in the recent
trading sessions, as export demand for the tropical oil remains
weak while it's expected that output might decline in the coming
months due to the El Nino dry weather effect.
"The market has mixed sentiments, as China is buying more
soybeans from South America for both crushing and consumption
and the hot weather with evening showers is helping production,"
said a trader from Kuala Lumpur.
"Yet production is slowing, plus (palm output could be
lowered by) the El Nino effect. It is going to be very volatile.
That's for sure," the trader added.
The El Nino weather phenomenon brings dry weather across
Southeast Asia, affecting the palm-producing countries of
Malaysia and Indonesia. It impacts palm's fresh fruit yield and
lowers output.
Traders are also anticipating the release of cargo surveyor
data on Friday for the first 15 days of January as compared with
the same time period a month ago as a gauge of palm's export
demand.
Palm oil prices saw a downward trend at the start of the
year, falling from an 18-month high of 2,508 ringgit it had
reached on Dec. 31. The tropical oil has dropped 3.3 percent
since the start of the year, dragged down by weak export demand,
tumbling crude oil prices and volatile equity markets.
The U.S. March soyoil contract was down 0.2 percent,
while the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange was 0.5 percent lower.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1025 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JAN6 0 +0.00 0 0 0
MY PALM OIL FEB6 2340 +1.00 2330 2364 1912
MY PALM OIL MAR6 2402 -9.00 2398 2429 23110
CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY6 4640 -8.00 4620 4684 1229900
CHINA SOYOIL MAY6 5526 -26.00 5512 5586 763510
CBOT SOY OIL MAR6 29.49 -1.00 29.44 29.62 4462
INDIA PALM OIL JAN6 419.00 -1.00 416.40 421.90 910
INDIA SOYOIL JAN6 610.00 +3.90 606.70 611.10 7070
NYMEX CRUDE FEB6 30.77 +0.29 30.28 30.97 42693
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 = 4.3900 ringgit)
($1 = 67.2100 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.5896 Chinese yuan)
- Reuters
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