Malaysian palm oil fell on Thursday, dragged down by falling crude and declines in competing vegetable oils as well as concerns over slowing exports. The benchmark palm oil contract for March on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slipped 0.8 percent to 2,383 ringgit ($552.26) a tonne at close. Traded volume stood at 36,644 lots of 25 tonnes each at the end of the trading day.
Oil slipped towards an 11-year low on Thursday, dented further by a seemingly relentless build in oversupply, and as the dollar strengthened after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Palm is influenced by crude oil prices, as the tropical oil is used for blending into biodiesel, a substitute for crude oil. "Slow demand is also a factor clouding market sentiment. The ringgit provides some strength, but not strong enough to push the market back up. Its upside is limited given current factors," said a trader in Kuala Lumpur.
Market participants see slowing December exports, as well as record high stockpiles, putting pressure on palm prices. Exports from Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, fell 12.4 percent while inventories hit an all-time high of 2.9 million tonnes at end-November. The falling exports continued through the first-half of December with separate surveying companies reporting a plunge of 34-36 percent compared with the same period in November.
A fall in output could dent stockpiles and lend support to prices. A Reuters poll showed that Indonesian crude palm oil production slipped 7 percent in November to 2.8 million tonnes from a month ago, as the harvest season ended and monsoon weather arrived in key growing areas. In competing vegetable oil markets, the US January soyoil contract fell 0.7 percent.
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