RTRS:VEGOILS-Palm oil eases on stronger ringgit, remains near 9-week highs
* Prices slips to low at 2,646 ringgit but remains near
9-week highs
* Palm oil may fall to 2,624 ringgit -technicals
* Prices fall for first time in four trading sessions
By Michael Taylor
JAKARTA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures eased
on Monday, with prices weighed by a stronger ringgit and as
traders booked profits after prices hit a nine-week high in the
previous session.
The Malaysian ringgit rose as much as 0.5 percent
to 3.2880 per dollar, its strongest since Jan. 16, on demand
from leveraged funds. A firmer ringgit eats into margins for
overseas buyers and refiners.
By the midday break, the benchmark May contract on
the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dipped 0.4 percent to
2,655 ringgit ($800) per tonne. On Friday, prices touched a
nine-week high at 2,688 ringgit, the highest level since Dec. 9.
"Down a little bit today, but not by much," said a trader
with a foreign commodities brokerage. "Today the ringgit is
strengthening... and there is some profit-taking. It is range
bound between 2,620-2,700 ringgit."
Total traded volume stood at 14,939 lots of 25 tonnes,
slightly above below the average 12,500 lots.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products from Feb. 1 to Feb.
15 rose 31.7 percent compared with the same period in January,
cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Saturday.
"Bullish factors like good exports are now factored into the
market," the trader added.
In comparative vegetable oils, the most active May soybean
oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange eased
0.5 percent. Higher soyoil prices may push buyers towards
cheaper palm instead.
Malaysia, the world's No.2 palm oil producer, kept its crude
palm oil export tax unchanged for March at 5 percent, a
government circular showed on Monday.
In technicals, Malaysian palm oil may break a support at
2,648 ringgit per tonne and fall more to 2,624 ringgit, as
indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement
analysis, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
In other markets, Brent crude slipped towards $109 a barrel
as disappointing U.S. economic data revived worries about demand
from the world's top oil consumer, but strong consumption of
heating fuels due to a cold spell checked losses.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0600 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL MAR4 2651 -10.00 2645 2661 319
MY PALM OIL APR4 2658 -7.00 2648 2664 4954
MY PALM OIL MAY4 2655 -8.00 2646 2663 6269
CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY4 5988 -2.00 5950 6010 234866
CHINA SOYOIL MAY4 6708 -28.00 6686 6728 250472
CBOT SOY OIL MAR4 39.15 +0.00 0.00 0.00 0
NYMEX CRUDE MAR4 100.76 +0.46 100.23 101.04 5361
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
