RTRS:VEGOILS-Palm edges off one-month high as weak exports weigh
* Prices rose as high as 2,341 ringgit, level last seen on
Apr 12
* Palm exports fall 18 pct during May 1-10 on month -SGS
(Updates prices)
By Chew Yee Kiat
SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures
eased from a one-month high on Monday as worries about weak
exports prompted profit-taking and offset initial gains driven
by slowing inventory levels.
Edible oil futures got off to a strong start as traders
priced in a drop of 11.3 percent in Malaysia's end-April palm
oil stocks to 1.93 million tonnes from a month earlier.
But lacklustre export demand later weighed down prices. Palm
exports slid 18.4 percent to 377,193 tonnes for the first 10
days of May from a month earlier, on slowing demand from Europe
and China, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said
last Friday.
"The Malaysian palm oil stock finally crossed below the
2-million-tonne mark, which is positive for the crude palm oil
price as it is an indication that stocks have normalised," said
Ivy Ng, senior research analyst at Malaysia's CIMB Investment
Bank.
"But this was offset by the 18 percent drop in palm oil
exports for the first 10 days of May," she added. "We suspect
the weaker exports may be due to higher demand for Indonesian
palm oil ... and slower demand from China due to high stocks at
the ports."
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange lost 0.4 percent to close at 2,309 ringgit
($771) per tonne, and off an earlier high of 2,341 ringgit, a
level last seen on April 12.
Total traded volumes stood at 20,607 lots of 25 tonnes each,
lower than the average 35,000 lots.
Stagnant production growth in April led to a bigger decline
in Malaysian stocks than expected, and analysts said slowing
output growth could continue to trim stocks this month, and
support crude prices.
"Looking forward, we believe stocks could fall 5 percent
month-on-month to 1.84 million tonnes by May. The trend of
declining inventory is supportive," said Alan Lim Seong Chun, a
research analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank.
In other markets, crude prices slipped towards $103 a barrel
on Monday as oil demand in the world's second-largest consumer
China fell to eight-month lows, weighing on the global outlook
for the fuel.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery
fell 0.2 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active
September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities
Exchange rose 0.4 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0959 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAY3 2300 +10.00 2300 2300 20
MY PALM OIL JUN3 2299 -6.00 2290 2324 447
MY PALM OIL JUL3 2312 -7.00 2301 2341 10911
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3 6118 +56.00 6102 6170 613534
CHINA SOYOIL SEP3 7482 +26.00 7464 7546 912344
CBOT SOY OIL JUL3 49.12 -0.13 48.95 49.46 3753
NYMEX CRUDE JUN3 94.94 -1.09 94.90 95.81 21108
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
