Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended off nine-day lows on Thursday although prospects of improved global vegetable oil supplies overshadowed a slight improvement in exports. The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivative Exchange lost as much as 56 ringgit to 2,090 ringgit ($601.6), a level unseen since September 15.
But it recovered slightly, settling down 31 ringgit at 2,115 ringgit a tonne. "Soyaoil supplies could be rising, given the good weather in the United States. So the current tightness in palm oil stocks will be mitigated somewhat," said a dealer with a local broker. "Exports have improved but it's not so fantastic."
But some traders expect big buyers such as China and India to resume buying, while Middle Eastern countries are likely to restock after Ramazan. China's commerce ministry on Thursday revised up its forecast for the country's September palm oil imports to 443,840 tonnes, from a previous estimate of 268,694 tonnes.
The revised forecast comes after cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported that September 1-20 palm oil exports from Malaysia rose 2.9 percent to 837,656 tonnes, from 814,403 tonnes shipped on August 1-20. The cargo surveyor, along with Intertek Testing Services, will report September 1-25 palm oil exports from the Southeast Asian country on Friday.
US soyaoil for October delivery fell 1.1 percent on a steady US dollar and on hopes that good weather will boost production. Bids for crude palm oil for September and October delivery were seen at 2,200 ringgit while offers stood at 2,210 ringgit for the southern region. Trades were done at 2,200 ringgit a tonne. Indonesia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, had no reports of trades.
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