Palm falls to over one-week low on higher Indonesia, Malaysia supply

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures hit an over one-week low on Friday and logged a second straight weekly loss, hit by expectations of higher supply from major producers Indonesia and Malaysia.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 113 ringgit, or 2.57%, to 4,279 ringgit ($1,034.82) a tonne, its lowest since Sept. 2.

Palm had earlier declined as much as 3.2% after a report by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) that surpassed industry surveys.

Malaysia’s end-August palm oil stocks surged 25% from the previous month to 1.87 million tonnes, its highest in 14 months, according to MPOB data.

Production rose 11.8%, while exports plunged 17%, the MPOB said.

MPOB data showing sharply higher inventories is significant as the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) also estimated firmer July end-stocks, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oils broker Sunvin Group.

“The combined Indonesia and Malaysia July end-stocks are now above 6 million tonnes,” he said.

Top producer Indonesia’s crude palm oil output in July stood at 4.1 million tonnes, up 5.4% from a year ago but down 9.5% from June, GAPKI data showed on Thursday.

Cargo surveyors reported that Malaysia’s exports during Sept. 1-10 rose between 50% and 57% from the same period in August due to larger shipments to India and China.

But the upward export momentum is unlikely to sustain during the second half of September, Bagani said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 2.2% while its palm oil contract slipped 3.6%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.1%.

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