ROTTERDAM: Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market was mostly firmer on Tuesday, following a rise in Malaysian futures after figures showed increased Malaysian palm oil exports for the first 25 days of June.
* “A bit of bargain hunting and the almost 10 percent rise in exports gave palm oil futures a boost, but players on the cash market remained a little cautious, noting that the rise in the first 20 days was some 16 percent,” one broker said.
* Palm oil was offered between $2.50 a tonne down and $7.50 up from Monday, off the highs on the back of a stronger dollar, which weighs on dollar-priced products.
Malaysian palm oil futures closed between 8 and 15 ringgit per tonne up as investors said the higher exports could reduce its still large palm oil stocks.
* August delivery RBD palm olein changed hands at $787.50 and $790 a tonne fob Malaysia, while Oct/Dec traded $10 up from Monday at $782.50 and $785, and Jan/March fetched $787.50, down $7.50.
* At 1630 GMT CBOT soyoil futures were between 0.21 and 0.33 cents per lb down as speculators bought soymeal and sold soyoil. <0#ZL:>
* Liquid oils – soyoil, rapeoil and sunoil – were offered between 4 euros per tonne up and 8 euros down from Monday, mostly following the trend in CBOT soyoil. Losses were limited by a strong dollar, which supports euro-priced products, and a mild rebound in rapeseed futures following recent losses, pushing prices down close to the 400 euro mark. <0#COM:>
* EU rapeoil changed hands between 798 and 795 euros per tonne fob exmill for Aug/Oct, and Nov/Jan traded at 805 euros fob.
* Lauric oils were offered between $5 a tonne up and $10 down from Monday, mostly following the trend in palm oil, but the strong dollar and lack of demand weighed on prices. – Reuters
Palm oil ends higher on export growth; demand fears cap gains
SINGAPORE Malaysian palm oil futures inched higher on Tuesday on strong export data, although gains were capped as investors worried about China and U.S. demand outlooks.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products from June 1 to 25 rose 9.6 percent from shipments over the same days in May to 1,167,266 tonnes, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Tuesday.
But investors were concerned that a liquidity crunch in China, palm oil’s second-largest buyer, and a tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stimulus programme might shrink demand for commodities.
“Global economic fears are keeping the bulls at bay for now,” said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur. “But we may see a rebound on higher exports and potentially lower stocks.”
The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange inched up 0.3 percent to close at 2,412 ringgit ($758) per tonne on Tuesday, after trading in a tight range between 2,396 and 2,421 ringgit.
Total traded volumes stood at 38,358 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 35,000 lots.
Planters expect palm oil demand to grow ahead of Ramadan in July, when consumption of the edible oil will rise as Muslims gather for communal feasts in the evenings.
On top of that, a weaker ringgit could spur more purchases of crude palm oil as the feedstock becomes cheaper for overseas buyers and refiners.
The ringgit lost nearly 3 percent against the dollar last week, as the greenback rallied after the Fed’s announcement.
The increase in exports may ease palm oil stocks further in June after a drop to 1.82 million tonnes last month, the lowest in nearly a year.
In other markets, Brent crude rose towards $102 a barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from a three-week low, as investor concern eased about a liquidity crunch in China and as Canadian pipeline closures threatened exports to the United States.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July rose 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange also gained 0.4 percent. – Reuters
Source : The Star
