MALAYSIAN crude palm oil futures edged 0.9 per cent lower on Tuesday on
weaker soyoil prices, while some traders waited by the sidelines for a
major industry conference to begin this week.
The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives
Exchange traded down RM23 at RM2,449(US$722.8). Traded volumes were
rather light at 4,432 lots at 25 tonnes each compared to the usual
5,000 lots.
“The market volumes are starting to weaken, many traders are
starting to close their positions since it is the end of the year,”
said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.
“There are no changes to the fundamentals but many are waiting for
the last palm oil conference this year for some guidance.”
The three-day Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and Price Outlook 2010 at
the resort island of Bali will start on Wednesday and feature analysts
like Dorab Mistry, Thomas Mielke and James Fry who will give their
views on the industry for next year.
Traders expect a small drawdown in stocks this month as exports are
still resilient and production growth has likely been limited by heavy
rains in key oil palm growing areas in Malaysia.
U.S. soyoil for December delivery dropped 0.4 per cent, while the
most-active September soybean oil contract on China’s Dalian Commodity
exchange edged lower.
Oil rose above US$77 a barrel on Tuesday, after a rebound of 1.6
per cent in the previous session, as Dubai debt default fears eased and
cautious investors cast about for fresh clues to the pace of global
Source : Business Times
