Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Monday and posted a fourth straight session of gains, tracking higher soybeans and soyabean oil on persistent concerns over dry weather in Argentina. US soyabeans were trading near a six-week high despite scattered showers in Argentina in recent weeks that have brought some relief to thirsty 2012/13 soyabean crops, as many areas are still suffering parched conditions, the Argentine agriculture ministry said.
Lower soyabean and soyabean oil production could shift some demand to the cheaper palm oil, which in turn may help ease record stocks for the tropical oil. "It's the South American weather that is serving as the pull factor," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur. "Locally, with a continuous wide discount in cash crude palm oil to futures, sentiment is still cautious as traders await the expected high stocks for January."
At the close, the benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.3 percent to 2,564 ringgit ($831) per tonne. Prices hit a 3-month high of 2,593 ringgit on Thursday. Total traded volumes stood at 32,005 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 25,000 tonnes. Technical analysis shows palm oil is expected to keep rising to 2,639 ringgit, as it has cleared resistance at 2,567 ringgit per tonne, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Traders are shifting their focus to Malaysia's palm oil stocks for January, hoping that slowing production and better-than-expected exports will bring down record stocks of 2.63 million tonnes recorded for December.
Malaysian palm exports in January fell 7 percent from a month ago, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services, while another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a 6.4 percent fall. That represented an improvement from the double-digit decline seen in the first 20 days of January, as worries eased over China's stricter regulation on edible oil imports after the first cargo from Malaysia was discharged.
Other vegetable oil markets also advanced on Argentine weather concerns. US soyaoil for March delivery gained 0.7 percent in late Asian trade. The most active September soyabean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.8 percent higher, near a three-month high.
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