Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Thursday after a drop to a four-month low earlier in the session lured back buyers, though gains were capped by persistent worries about the health of the global economy. "The sentiment in overall commodities markets remains weak, especially as crude oil prices posted six straight sessions of loss while gold prices still struggle to recover," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged up 1.5 percent to close at 2,309 ringgit ($761) per tonne. Prices fell to as low as 2,265 ringgit, a level last seen on December 14. Total traded volumes stood at 38,072 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 35,000 lots.
Technical analysis showed palm oil is expected to drop to 2,249 ringgit, as it has broken a support at 2,289 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. Palm oil traders are now waiting for export numbers as stocks of the edible oil could ease further on higher shipments and weak production. Inventory levels fell to 2.17 million tonnes in March, the lowest in seven months.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services will release Malaysia's April 1-20 export data on Saturday while another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, is expected to do the same on Monday. In other vegetable oil markets, US soyaoil for May delivery edged up 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 1 percent.