Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower on Thursday but off a three-week trough, helped by gains in rival Chicago soyaoil after key soyabean contracts on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose their three-percent limit. The market was weighed down by concerns over rising domestic supply and as production enters a seasonal peak.
The benchmark third-month palm oil futures contract on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, September, ended down three ringgit at 1,466 ringgit ($385.79) a tonne after touching 1,450, its lowest level since May 28.
Overall volume was 5,450 lots, up from Wednesday's 5,120. Chicago Board of Trade soyaoil futures rose in Asian trade on Thursday after Dalian soyabeans hit limit up on talk that a Brazilian soya cargo at a Chinese port might have been rejected, with July up 0.12 cent at 27.48 cents per lb, after hitting a high of 27.55.
Society Generale de Surveillance, the market's main cargo surveyor, put Malaysian palm oil exports for June 1-15 at 492,546 tonnes, up from the 479,152 tonnes shipped in May l-15. Malaysia's palm oil stocks stood at 1.04 million tonnes at the end of May, up from 1.0 million tonnes in the same period in April.
The country's main forecaster of palm oil supply and demand, Ivan Wong, projected stocks to rise further to 1.33-1.34 million tonnes at the end of June.
Physical crude palm oil prices also rebounded to end flat. June saw bids/offers at 1,490/1,500 ringgit a tonne in the southern and central regions. Trades were reported at 1,485-1,500 ringgit in the south and 1,480-1,495 in the central.
July also saw buyers/sellers at 1,490/1,500 ringgit a tonne in the southern and central regions. Trades were reported at 1,490-1,495 ringgit in the south and 1,480-1,490 in the central.
PALM OIL FUTURES:
June (south): 1500.
Open/High/Low: 1473/1478/1450.
Previous close: 1500.
PALM OIL PHYSICALS:
September (3rd month): 1466.
Previous settlement: 1469.
FUTURES:
Benchmark third-month September down three ringgit to 1,466 ringgit ($385.79) a tonne.
PHYSICALS: End flat.