Palm oil clocks 1.4pc weekly fall as exports decline

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures steadied on Friday, buoyed by supply concerns, but logged a weekly loss of 1.4pc as October exports fell and demand from top buyer India dwindled.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 3 ringgit, or 0.10pc, to 2,869 ringgit ($691.83) a tonne, after falling for two straight sessions.

India's palm oil imports in September fell 27pc on-year due to lean demand from hotels and restaurants, while soyoil purchases jumped 28pc, a leading trade body said on Friday.

A surprise drop in Malaysian palm oil exports, as well as rising inventories and a fall in palm-based biodiesel consumption in Indonesia, pressured the market, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group.

Malaysian exports during Oct. 1 to 15 fell 2pc from the month before, cargo surveyors said on Thursday.

However, the overall global vegetable oil supply situation is tight due to lower soybean crush in Argentina and sunflower supply issues in the Black Sea region, Bagani said.

Soybean farmers in Argentina are hoarding crops due to foreign exchange uncertainty and Ukraine's sunseed harvest has been hit by poor weather.

Indonesian palm prices, including free on board (FOB) and state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (PTPN), are falling as production is rising, with demand also seeing an uptick, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager & broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 1.8pc on Friday, while its palm oil contract slipped 2.36pc.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.66pc.

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