Palm edges higher on gains in crude oil

10 Jul, 2019

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was last up 0.3% at 1,948 ringgit ($470.53) per tonne.

Palm oil may test a resistance at 1,966 ringgit per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain to 1,984 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

"The market is up on firm crude oil prices," a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader said. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, led by U.S. crude after an industry group reported that U.S. stockpiles fell for a fourth week in a row, alleviating concerns about oversupply amid global trade tensions.

During palm oil's midday break though, industry regulator the MPOB released official data for the month of June which showed that inventory levels came in higher than forecast.

Malaysian stockpiles at end-June eased 0.97% on-month to 2.42 million tonne, versus a Reuters survey which forecast a 4% decline to 2.35 million tonnes.

The MPOB also reported that output in June fell 9.2% month-on-month to 1.52 million tonnes, while exports dropped 19.4% from May to 1.38 million tonnes last month.

In other related oils, U.S. soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.1%, while the September soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.1%. The Dalian September palm oil contract was also up 0.1%.

Palm oil prices are impacted by movements in related oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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