Malaysian palm futures down 1% on sluggish exports, firm output

Palmoil IOI

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian palm oil futures fell over 1% on Monday evening, extending losses into a fourth consecutive session on expectations of sluggish export demand and higher production.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 1.7% at 2,189 ringgit ($524.06) per tonne at the close of trade, its sharpest daily decline in three weeks.

It fell to 2,187 ringgit earlier in the session, its lowest level since Sept. 13.

Palm oil may break a support at 2,219 ringgit per tonne, and fall towards the next support at 2,161 ringgit, Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities technicals said.

"Good production is coming in from East Malaysia, while exports are not so good," said a Kuala Lumpur based futures trader, referring to the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak that are the two largest producing states of palm oil in the country.

Palm oil shipments during Sept. 1-20 also fell 3.9%-10.8% from a month earlier, according to data from cargo surveyors last week.

Palm oil production rose 4.6% in August from a month earlier to 1.82 million tonnes, its highest since November, according to data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board earlier this month.

Inventories fell 5.3% from a month earlier to 2.25 million tonnes, while exports jumped by a bigger-than-expected 16.4% to 1.73 million tonnes.

In other related oils, U.S. soyoil futures on the U.S. Chicago Board of Trade were last up 0.2%.

Chicago soybean futures rose, recouping last session's losses, but fears of a protracted U.S.-China trade war capped gains.

The January soyoil contract on the Dalian exchange were up 0.2% and the Dalian January palm oil contract also gained 0.2%.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements in related oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. - Reuters