RTRS:VEGOILS-Palm oil extends gains on Greece hopes, US data
* Hopes that Greece will secure bond swap lift sentiment
* Prices to rebound more to 3,306 ringgit -technicals
* Futures up more than 4 percent so far this year
(Updates prices)
By Chew Yee Kiat
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm
oil futures extended gains on Thursday as investor sentiment
brightened on hopes Greece would secure a debt swap deal to
avoid a messy default, while promising U.S. jobs data also
supported prices.
An upbeat price outlook for the edible oil, which has risen
more than 4 percent so far this year, also underpinned market
sentiment.
Palm oil prices are expected to hit 4,000 ringgit by the end
of June, leading analyst Dorab Mistry said at a key palm oil
conference on Wednesday. Prices have been trading in a range of
3,000-3,300 ringgit this year.
"The bullish price forecast helps to lift futures, right now
I don't think there are other major factors," said James Ratnam,
an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia.
Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.1 percent to close at
3,303 ringgit ($1,098) per tonne.
Traded volumes were thin at 19,528 lots of 25 tonnes each,
compared to the usual 25,000 lots.
According to technical charts, palm oil is expected to
rebound more to 3,306 ringgit per tonne, said Reuters market
analyst Wang Tao.
Market players are now shifting their focus to the Malaysian
export numbers to gauge the impact of Indonesia's move to slash
the export tax on refined palm oil shipments.
Indonesia's tax change was the main talking point of the
Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference that ended on Wednesday.
"Last year's exports were easier to predict but this year
it's tougher because of the Indonesian tax structure," Ratnam
said.
Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe
Generale de Surveillance will release Malaysian export data for
March 1-10 on Saturday and Monday, respectively.
Oil rose on Thursday, with prices staying above $124 a
barrel, on hopes that Greece would win enough creditor support
to avoid a messy default on its debt and on continuing fears of
supply disruptions from Iran.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for
March delivery was flat in Asian trade and the most
active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian
Commodity exchange gained 0.5 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAR2 3290 +35.00 3255 3290 114
MY PALM OIL APR2 3310 +35.00 3262 3313 704
MY PALM OIL MAY2 3303 +37.00 3255 3310 11374
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP2 8340 +70.00 8264 8346 107276
CHINA SOYOIL SEP2 9360 +44.00 9300 9372 318068
CBOT SOY OIL MAY2 53.53 +0.55 52.88 53.70 7939
NYMEX CRUDE APR2 106.95 +0.80 105.91 107.16 17503
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