Palm oil tracks Dalian rivals higher
- Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract gained 0.42%
JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher on Wednesday after two straight sessions of falls, tracking gains in Dalian vegetable oils, while expectations of declining Malaysian palm oil stocks in end-January added support.
The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 7 ringgit, or0.17%, to 4,222 ringgit ($1,074.57) a metric ton at closing.
“Crude palm oil future is tracking Dalian movement, while waiting for fresh leads from next week’s Palm Oil Conference,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract gained 0.42%, while its palm oil contract rose 0.42%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade barely changed, up 0.09%.
Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are set to end a 10-month rising streak in January, as exports jumped during a seasonal slowdown in production, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products were expected to have risen between 14.9% and 17.9% month-on-month in January, according to data from inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia and cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.
India’s palm oil imports surged 51% in January to a four-month high, as the tropical oil’s discount to rival soyoil prompted refiners to ramp up purchases while cutting soyoil imports to a 19-month low, according to five dealers.
Palm oil may test support at 4,201 ringgit per ton, a break below which may trigger a fall into the 4,115 ringgit to 4,158 ringgit range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
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