Palm slips on stronger ringgit, weaker related oils

19 Aug, 2019

The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.6% at 2,177 ringgit ($523.07) per tonne. It was set for a third straight session of losses.

The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.3% against the dollar on Monday to 4.1620. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.

In related edible oils, U.S. soyoil futures on the CBOT fell 0.2%, while the September soyoil contract on the Dalian exchange also eased 0.2%.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Palm oil may test a support at 2,160 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could cause a fall to 2,113 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

* Chicago corn futures lost ground on Monday, giving up some of previous session's gains as crop-friendly weather over the weekend in parts of the U.S. Midwest boosted hopes of bumper production.

* Crude oil prices rose on Monday following a weekend attack on a Saudi oil facility by Yemeni separatists, although price gains were capped by an unusually downbeat OPEC report that stoked concerns about demand growth.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian stocks rose on Monday as hopes of more stimulus from central banks around the world and steps being taken by major economies such as Germany and China soothed investors' fears of a sharp global economic slump.

* U.S. stock futures rose on Sunday after President Donald Trump said he had discussed the impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.

* Safe-haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc were under pressure on Monday as expectations policymakers would unleash new stimulus eased immediate concerns about a slowing global economy.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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