RTRS:VEGOILS-Palm oil ends off 3-week low on gloomy outlook, markets
* Crude palm oil prices fall to a 3-week low
* Malaysian palm oil to fall to 2,901 ringgit -technicals
* Mistry gives bearish outlook on palm oil
(Updates prices)
By Anuradha Raghu
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil
futures fell to a 3-week low on Thursday, as traders booked
profits after U.S. soybeans dropped from a record high and a
leading industry analyst warned of a looming supply glut of the
tropical oil.
Soybeans touched a 1-week low in Asian trading hours as
traders locked in profits with expectations of supply coming in
with the Midwest harvest kicking off, a sentiment that spread to
palm oil futures.
The market turned more bearish after Dorab Mistry, head of
vegetable oil trading with Indian conglomerate Godrej
Industries, said record southeast Asian palm oil stocks may
weigh on prices that have fallen more than 7 percent this year.
"The Dalian and Chicago Board of Trade this morning is
already under pressure. Definitely, palm is following up with
the external pressure," said a trader with foreign commodities
brokerage in Malaysia.
The benchmark November contract on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange tumbled as much as 2.6 percent to
2,913 ringgit ($935) per tonne, its lowest level since Aug. 16,
before closing at 2,948 ringgit.
Total traded volume stood at 45,071 lots of 25 tonnes each,
much higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Technicals were also bearish. Malaysian palm oil is expected
to drop further to 2,901 ringgit, as it has broken below a
support at 2,956 ringgit per tonne, according to Reuters analyst
Wang Tao.
In the palm oil physical market, sellers are now holding
back after the futures prices fell sharply, although buyers are
keen to strike deals at lower levels, traders said.
"Those who have sold earlier are looking to take some profit
and buy back," said the Malaysian trader. "I feel that if the
market goes a bit lower, they will see more physical buying
support coming in, either to take profit or to build positions."
In a bullish signal for palm oil, crude oil futures rose
above $114 per barrel on Thursday, buoyed by expectations that
the European Central Bank will manage to ease its debt crisis
with a new programme of bond purchases.
But edible oil prices were still under pressure from
profit-taking.
By 1008 GMT, U.S. soyoil for December delivery fell
0.7 percent. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract
on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 1.3 percent
lower.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1009 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL SEP2 2840 -48.00 2820 2840 33
MY PALM OIL OCT2 2896 -42.00 2864 2917 2300
MY PALM OIL NOV2 2948 -42.00 2913 2969 23956
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3 8074 -164.00 8056 8138 262224
CHINA SOYOIL JAN3 10074 -136.00 10032 10132 429280
CBOT SOY OIL DEC2 57.60 -0.38 57.20 58.16 9956
NYMEX CRUDE OCT2 96.40 +1.04 95.73 96.62 17914
Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne
CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound
Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($1=3.1165 Malaysian ringgit)