Malaysia crude palm oil futures made little upward progress on Wednesday as firmer ringgit offset stronger global markets and higher export data. Benchmark June crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Deravatives Exchange ended up 0.2 percent or 6 ringgit, at 2,551 ringgit ($780.8). Trading volume shot up to 14,487 lots of 25 tonnes each compared with the usual 10,000 lots.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Service said on Wednesday that Malaysia's March palm oil exports rose 12.1 percent from a month ago. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said exports in March rose 7.7 percent to 1,345,124 tonnes. Oil traded above $82 on Wednesday as recovering demand outweighs ample supplies and concern over monetary tightening in leading economies.
Firmer crude oil prices bolstered other vegetable oil markets. Both May soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade and the most traded September soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange edged higher. The US Department of Agriculture releases its 2010 Planting Intentions report later on Wednesday. In China, traders are expecting the government to implement stricter inspections on soyoil imports. "So far there is no specific statement or regulation saying that China will slow buying," a trader in Beijing said. "Stocks are high in China, demand and supply in China will not be affected." China, a major edible oil consumer, imported 2.39 million tonnes of soyoil last year.
INDONESIA PALM TRADES In Indonesia, Jakarta-based PT KBN Nusantara, formerly known as the state marketing centre, sold 9,000 tonnes of crude palm oil offered in the auction at a top price of 7,358 rupiah ($0.810) per kg against 7,319 rupiah per kg on previous day.
Producers in Medan, home to Indonesia's main palm oil export port of Belawan, did not hold any palm oil tenders on Wednesday. Refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) Palm Olein - used as cooking oil - at 7,600 rupiah per unchanged from previous day.