Malaysia's palm oil futures ended mostly flat on Friday as players limited their exposure ahead of export data due next week, dealers said. The third-month December crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended unchanged at 1,453 ringgit a tonne ($385.4) on Friday, with overall volume active at 5,760 lots of 25 tonnes.
The December contract had risen as much as 9 ringgit in the morning, touching an intraday high of 1,462, following a rise in prices of rival US soyoil.
Soyoil and palm oil compete for similar export destinations, and their prices often move in step.
"The market closed practically unchanged, waiting for the first 15 days export figures," said one dealer in Kuala Lumpur, referring to the export numbers for October 1-15. Cargo surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) and Intertek Testing Services (ITS) are scheduled to release the export numbers for October 1-15 next Monday.
The SGS, whose figures are more closely watched by the market, put Malaysia's September 1-15 palm oil exports at 608,419 tonnes. "A lot of people believe it should be 580,000 tonnes or below because shipments are not so good in the last few days. That was why the market was a bit depressed in the afternoon," said another dealer.
"Some others believe it should be around 600,000 tonnes." Dealers said the market could move in a 1,440-1,470 ringgit range when it opened on Monday. "We believe the strong support is still 1,440 ringgit and resistance is 1,470 ringgit for Monday unless the export figure comes out way below or way above expectations," said one dealer.
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