KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were slightly up at the midday break on Wednesday, though they remained largely range-bound as traders exercised caution ahead of official data release from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).
The MPOB data, which was released during the midday break, showed that end-stocks in March dropped 4.6 percent to 2.92 million tonnes from February, while output rose 8.3 percent to 1.67 million tonnes on-month.
Meanwhile, March exports surged 22.4 percent to 1.62 million tonnes from the previous month.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was slightly up 0.1 percent at 2,214 ringgit ($540.66) a tonne at the midday break.
"Market was earlier up as polls were quite positive, but for me the official data is bearish as production was expected to be lower," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that this also contributed to higher-than-expected inventories. The trader said he expected the market to turn bearish during the second half of trade.
In other related oils, Chicago May soybean oil contract was down 0.5 percent, and the May soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, the Dalian May palm oil contract gained 0.7 percent.
Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.
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