KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell for a fourth day on Wednesday as Greek bailout fears and worries about slowing growth hurt sentiment, although losses were limited as traders were expecting bullish price outlooks from a key conference.
Prices rose more than six percent in February alone, setting the stage for upbeat price outlooks at the Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference, where industry experts including Thomas Mielke, James Fry and Dorab Mistry present their views.
"Markets were pathetically quiet ahead of the analysts' price forecasts, and prices were stuck within tight range. However, bullish views are expected and that will likely put sellers on hold," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
By the midday break, benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged down 0.4 percent to 3,232 ringgit ($1,067) per tonne. The benchmark futures are trading 1.8 percent higher this year.
Traded volumes were thin as investors chose to stay on the sidelines on the last day of the conference. Volumes stood at 3,946 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 12,500 lots.
On the technicals side, Reuters analyst Wang Tao said signals are mixed for palm oil as it resists a fall below support at 3,218 ringgit per tonne.
Leading analyst James Fry presented a few scenarios based on crude oil price and its impact on palm oil futures, given the edible oil is being increasingly used as a feedstock for biofuels.
Brent crude climbed above $122 on Wednesday after China said it would boost energy imports this year, while concerns persist over supply risks and Iran's nuclear program despite the country's offer for talks with major powers.
In other vegetable oil markets, the US soyoil contract for March delivery slipped 0.1 percent in Asian trade and the most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange fell 0.5 percent.
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