bullish forecasts at a key industry conference next week.
Palm
oil has gained 0.3 per cent so far this year compared to US soyoil’s 2.4
per cent decline, making it the best performing vegetable oil market.
“The
prices are holding well before the Palm Oil (and Laurics) Conference,
the price support level should be around RM2,650,” one trader in Kuala
Lumpur said.
Benchmark May crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives
Exchange closed down RM4 at RM2,670, after trading as high as RM2,700
earlier in the session, a level unseen since January 6.
Overall
traded volume surged to 17,321 lots at 25 tonnes each from the usual
10,000 lots, signalling that the majority of the traders were taking
positions ahead of the three day palm oil conference in Kuala Lumpur.
The
Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the industry regulator, will release
February’s palm oil stocks, production and export data on Wednesday and
traders expect bullish numbers.
A Reuters poll on Friday showed
Malaysia’s February palm oil stocks likely to fall for a second straight
month by 5 per cent.
The survey, done among five plantations in
Malaysia showed the February’s output dipped further 6 per cent. But,
traders in Kuala Lumpur expected production to drop 8-9 per cent as
there were lesser market days last month.
Crude oil rose above
US$80 a barrel in Asian hours, after China said it would maintain its
economic stimulus, giving support to most of the vegetable oil markets.
May
soyoil contract at the Chicago Board of Trade edged higher while the
most traded September soyoil futures in Dalian Commodity Exchange also
gained slightly.
Source : Business Times
