Malaysian palm oil futures ended down on Thursday, snapping a four-session winning streak, on losses overnight in soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and as traders turned cautious ahead of a slew of data releases. Official July data for Malaysia's palm oil inventories, production and exports is scheduled for release by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) after 0400 GMT on Friday.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.5 percent at 2,246 ringgit ($551.30) a tonne at the end of the trading day. The market climbed to a one-month high in its previous trading session and is up 2.3 percent for the week so far, its sharpest weekly gain since mid May.
Trading volumes stood at 38,631 lots of 25 tonnes each in the evening. "The overnight drop in soyaoil caused lower palm oil prices. The market is also cautious ahead of the July supply and demand report from MPOB due tomorrow," said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur.
Export data from cargo surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance and AmSpec Agri Malaysia will also be reported on Friday after 0300 GMT. A Thomson Reuters survey forecasts palm oil end-July stockpiles to rise 7 percent to 2.34 million tonnes, while production is seen up 15.9 percent to 1.54 million tonnes. Meanwhile, exports are also forecast to gain 0.9 percent to 1.14 million tonnes.
In other related oils, the Chicago December soyabean oil contract fell 0.6 percent in its previous trading session, but was last up 0.03 percent on Thursday. Meanwhile, the January soyabean oil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 0.6 percent, and the Dalian January palm oil contract up 0.5 percent. Palm oil prices are impacted by movements of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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