Malaysian palm oil ends at eight-month high

Malaysian palm futures jumped 6.4 precent to a new high in nearly eight months on Tuesday amid market talk that key data, due to be released tomorrow, will show strong exports in the first 15 days of April, traders said. "The entire scene is bullish," a trader at a Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage firm said, referring to stronger exports, which may lead to a further drop in palm stocks this month.
The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 150 ringgit to 2,485 ringgit ($693.17) per tonne, the highest closing level since September 4. The price of the tropical oil - used in various products from soap to biodiesel - has recovered about 87 percent from an October 28 low of 1,331 ringgit partly aided by a fall in palm stocks.
Other traded months rose between 65 and 179 ringgit, except for the March 2010 contract, which fell 20 ringgit. Overall volume was heavy at 23,790 lots of 25 tonnes each, more than double the usual 10,000 lots. Traders said they are now more confident that palm stocks, which hit a 20-month low of 1.36 million tonnes in March, would drop further this month.
Another Malaysian trader said people were talking about the first 15 days exports of 620,000 tonnes, or about 5 percent more than the amount shipped out in March 1-15. "If the momentum keeps going this way, obviously 1.3 million tonnes exports for full month is coming," the second trader said. Cargo surveryors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance are expected to unveil April 1-15 Malaysian palm exports on April 15.
INDONESIA PALM TRADES In Indonesia, the world's top producer of palm oil, palm prices were little changed, failing to track the rally in Malaysian futures. The Jakarta-based state marketing centre, which normally sells palm oil from state plantations, sold the entire 11,000 tonnes of palm oil it offered at a top price of 8,058 rupiah ($0.738) per kg, against 8,028 rupiah ($0.453) per kg on Monday.
Producers in Medan - home to Belawan port, Indonesia's main palm oil export port - sold palm oil at 8,100 rupiah per kg, against 8,025 rupiah per kg on Monday. Meanwhile, refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 8,200 rupiah per kg, against 8,150 rupiah per kg on Monday. In the Malaysian physical market, palm oil for April and May delivery was traded at 2,500-2,550 ringgit per tonne in the southern and central regions.