Palm oil slides almost 1% after sharp gains

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell nearly 1% on Thursday, a day after lower stockpiles and tightening production pushed the contract to its biggest jump in 11 years.

The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 39 ringgit, or 0.86%, at 4,472 ringgit ($1,056.71) a tonne at the midday break.

It had jumped 7.4% on Wednesday in its best-ever intraday gain since 2009.

End-July palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer, fell 7.3% from a month earlier to 1.5 million tonnes, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) data released on Wednesday.

Palm oil targets 4,344 ringgit

That defied forecasts which pegged them to rise 1.6%. Production and exports, meanwhile, were projected to fall 4%, as per a Reuters survey.

Palm prices were likely taking a breather after Wednesday's strong performance, a trader based in Kuala Lumpur said.

"The market seems to be consolidating after yesterday's rally," another trader said, noting that palm could drop further if rival oils fall.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 1.21% and while its palm oil contract gained 2.7%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.36%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil may test a resistance at 4,587 ringgit per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain to 4,698 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Traders now await data from the US Department of Agriculture, which is set to issue an update on global grain supplies and demand in a monthly report on Thursday.