RTRS:VEGOILS-Palm oil falls to 2-week low in thin trade; export data eyed
* Jan. palm oil stocks down 1.9 pct at 2.58 mln tonnes -
MPOB
* Palm oil to drop to 2,510 ringgit - technicals
(Updates prices, adds details)
By Anuradha Raghu
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures
fell to a two-week low on Wednesday in light trade after a long
holiday weekend, with investors cautious about trading actively
ahead of industry data.
Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, released during the
afternoon break, showed that end-stocks in Malaysia, the world's
No. 2 producer, had inched down 1.9 percent to 2.58 million
tonnes in January. That was off recent record levels but missed
expectations of a deeper fall.
Investors were also awaiting palm oil export data from cargo
surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance later on Wednesday.
On Saturday, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said
Malaysia's shipments had surged 18 percent in the first ten days
of February compared with a month earlier, but traders said
export volumes still needed to rise to "decent" levels.
"Exports in the last five days of January showed an average
of 50,000 tonnes shipped per day, which is good. We were
expecting that to carry on in February, but obviously that is
not the case," said a trader with a foreign commodities
brokerage in Malaysia.
"It will need to pick up in the coming days of February. We
are at very high stocks here, so if that picks up then things
will look a bit more rosy."
The benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange fell to 2,506 ringgit ($809) per tonne, the
lowest level since Jan. 30, before settling at 2,522 ringgit
($814) per tonne by the midday break, 1.5 percent lower than
Friday's close.
Total traded volumes were thin at 8,553 lots of 25 tonnes
each, compared with the average 12,500 tonnes, with many
investors still on holiday.
Financial markets in Malaysia were closed on Monday and
Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holidays while markets in China,
the world's No. 2 edible oil importer, remain closed for the
rest of the week.
Technical analysis showed palm oil may drop to 2,510 ringgit
per tonne as a correction from the Jan. 31 high of 2,593 ringgit
has not finished, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Brent crude steadied on Wednesday, holding just below a
nine-month high near $119 per barrel on forecasts for
faster-than-expected growth in global oil demand this year, but
easing tensions in Iran subdued prices.
In competing vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for March
delivery fell 0.1 percent in early Asian trade. The
Dalian Commodity Exchange will resume trading on Monday.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0538 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL FEB3 0 +0.00 0 0 17
MY PALM OIL MAR3 2494 -40.00 2493 2529 323
MY PALM OIL APR3 2522 -38.00 2506 2558 5263
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 7088 -24.00 7082 7156 307504
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 8714 -42.00 8712 8788 218624
CBOT SOY OIL MAR3 51.04 -0.06 51.02 51.27 1274
NYMEX CRUDE MAR3 97.63 +0.12 97.50 97.64 2348
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