Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell nearly 1 percent on Wednesday as rising supplies and a slowdown in buying weighed on the market, dealers said. The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 32 ringgit at 3,355 ringgit ($1,063) per tonne.
"Refiners are not taking oil because the storage facilities are full. It's a problem for plantations," said one dealer with a domestic brokerage. Other traded months fell between 30 and 44 ringgit in an overall trade of 5,794 lots of 25 tonnes each, half of around 10,000 lots traded on a routine day.
Malaysia's crude palm oil output is expected to rise to 16.5 million tonnes this year from 15.8 million tonnes in 2007 as soaring palm oil prices have led to conversion of marginal land into plantations, the country's commodities minister said. Soyaoil for May delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.31 percent but the most-active September contract was down 2.05 percent. In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for May shipment in the southern region was quoted at 3,370/3,395 and trades were done between 3,390 and 3,395 ringgit a tonne.
INDONESIA PALM OIL: Indonesian palm oil prices were mixed on Wednesday, pressured by a slight drop in Malaysian palm oil futures, while tight supplies and strong demand boosted cooking oil prices. The state marketing centre in Jakarta sold crude palm oil at 9,674 rupiah ($1.05), ex-factory Ophir in West Sumatra, down from 9,885 rupiah on Tuesday.
The centre failed to sell crude palm oil free on board Belawan, which it uses as the benchmark. Producers in North Sumatra's Medan, where Belawan port the key port for palm oil exports is located, sold crude palm oil at 9,840 rupiah a kg, slightly down from 9,900 rupiah on Tuesday with 750 tonnes of the oil changing hands.