Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by a bearish crop report for April from the official Malaysian Palm Oil Board.
The benchmark third-month CPO contract on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, July, ended down 14 ringgit at 1,854 ringgit ($487.89) a tonne, off an intrude low of 1,848.
Other traded contracts were unchanged to down 15 ringgit. Overall volume was light at 2,701 lots, down from Tuesday's 3,835 lots. MPOB said after the trading session ended that Malaysian crude palm oil output rose 7.22 percent to 1.01 million tonnes in April from 940,761 tonnes in March.
It said palm oil closing stocks in April stood at 1.0 million tonnes, up 4.58 percent from 957,801 tonnes at end-March.
MPOB said exports for last month totalled 946,044 tonnes, up 0.96 percent from the 937,015 tonnes in March.
"This report is sure enough bearish," said a dealer. "If we're starting April with a stock of 1.0 million tonnes, it's definitely not a very good sign."
Leading independent crop analyst Ivan Wong had on Tuesday estimated Malaysia's end-April palm oil stocks at 950,000 tonnes.
Physical palm oil prices were also soft, following futures. May crude palm oil saw bids/offers at 1,965/1,970 ringgit a tonne in the southern and central regions. It was quoted at 1,970/1,980 at Tuesday's close.
Trades were reported at 1,970-1,965 ringgit in both regions. June CPO saw bids/offers at 1,930/1,945 ringgit in the south and 1,925/1,940 in the central region. No trade was reported.
PALM OIL FUTURES:
May (south): 1970.
Open/High/Low: 1873/1875/1848.
Previous closes: 1980.
PALM OIL PHYSICALS:
July (3rd month): 1854.
Previous settlement: 1868.
FUTURES: Benchmark third-month July down 14 ringgit to 1,854 ringgit ($487.89) a tonne.
PHYSICALS: Lower.