April 3, 2007

 

Malaysian palm ends down as soyoil weighs
 

 

Malaysia's crude palm oil futures slipped on Monday (April 2) as prices of rival soyoil declined and players took profits after a rally last week.

 

Dealers said the strong export performance reported by cargo surveyors failed to impress the market.

 

The benchmark third-month June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 9 ringgit at 2,061 ringgit (US$596) a tonne.

 

A dealer said while exports have been good, the market is moving more on global factors like soyoil and crude oil.

 

The benchmark contract hit an eight-year high of 2,076 ringgit on March 30 on the back of firm crude and soyoil markets.

 

Other active contracts fell between 2 and 4 ringgit, except for April, which ended up 1 ringgit. Distant September, November 2008 and January 2009 also closed higher.

 

Overall volume stood at 10,780 lots of 25 tonnes each.

 

Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade also plunged on Friday due to sell-off in corn after the USDA forecast the biggest US corn plantings since 1944, traders said.

 

May soyoil closed 0.49 cent per pound weaker at 32.48 cents. The back months settled 0.27 to 0.50 cent down.

 

Malaysian palm oil usually follows the US soyoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from food and cosmetics to biodiesel, which has been on the rise as an alternative on the increasing prices of petroleum.

 

Malaysian palm oil prices soared 40 percent last year on the back of biodiesel demand and the market is forecast to rise around 20 percent this year.

 

In the physical market, crude palm oil for April shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,070/2,075 ringgit a tonne. Trades were done between 2,060 and 2,070 ringgit.

 

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-31 rose 15.8 percent to 991,550 tonnes from 856,192 tonnes shipped in February, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.