Malaysian palm oil futures were down on Friday evening after official data release showed a rise in production, though losses were capped as the gain in stockpiles was below market expectations. Industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) reported a 1.3 percent monthly rise in July inventory levels to 2.21 million tonnes.
The data also showed production rose 12.8 percent to 1.5 million tonnes and exports were up 6.8 percent at 1.21 million tonnes from the previous month. A Thomson Reuters survey had forecast palm oil end-July stockpiles to rise 7 percent to a five month high of 2.34 million tonnes.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.2 percent at 2,242 ringgit ($549.11) a tonne at the end of the trading day. The market, however, is up 2.1 percent on-week, its strongest weekly gain in three.
Trading volumes stood at 41,812 lots of 25 tonnes each. "The market is showing concern over the production pace," said a Kuala Lumpur based trader. Palm oil production in Malaysia, the world's second largest producer, is set to further rise in the coming months and reach peak output levels towards the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Malaysian palm oil shipments during August 1-10 rose 7.4 percent from the corresponding period last month, reported inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia on Friday. Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a 11.8 percent rise for the same duration.
In other related oils, the Chicago December soyabean oil contract slightly rose 0.2 percent, but the January soyabean oil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange declined 0.1 percent. The Dalian January palm oil contract was 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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