Friday 29 Mar 2024
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JAKARTA (Jan 30): Malaysian palm oil futures decreased 0.8 percent on Friday to their lowest since mid-December as weakness in competing markets and expectations of weak monthly export figures weigh on prices that have lost more than 12 percent since mid-January.

"Continued weakness in competing edible oils and the uncertainty over demand direction is the main culprit," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

"Demand continues to shift towards South America, where overall production looks good," the trader added.

Persistently low export data and expectations of weak export figures for January also weighed on prices, the trader said.    

"Export figures for first ten days (of January) were down. Export figures for first 25 days were also down. So people are expecting end-of-month export figures released next week will
also be down," another trader said.

By the midday break the benchmark April contract  on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged down 0.8 percent to 2,117 ringgit ($584) per tonne, after hitting 2,106 ringgit during early trade, the benchmark's lowest since December 17.

Total traded volume by the midday break stood at 19,625 lots of 25 tonnes, above the average 12,500 lots.

Technicals showed palm oil is expected to stabilise around a support at 2,097 ringgit per tonne, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, said Reuters
market analyst Wang Tao.
     
Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, set its crude palm oil export tax for February at zero, unchanged from January, the trade ministry said on its website.

In other markets, oil prices dipped on Friday after slight gains in the previous session and analysts said the outlook remained weak, with production high and producers reducing
operating costs to adjust to lower export revenues.

In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March edged up 0.02 percent, in early Asian trade, while the most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange fell 1.62 percent.
    

 

 

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