Crude Palm Oil Ends Lower

 Crude Palm Oil Ends Lower; Malaysia Export Data Awaited

Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia’s derivatives exchange fell Wednesday after trading in a tight range as investors exercised caution ahead of key export data releases Thursday.
The benchmark March contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended 0.5% lower at 2,331 ringgit a metric ton, after moving in a MYR2,313-MYR2,338/ton range.

Expectations of rising palm oil inventories due to lackluster global demand amid seasonally high production in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia weighed on palm oil prices, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
The bearish sentiment was also accentuated by fears of slowing demand for soybeans, another Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture late Tuesday said China, the world's largest soybean importer, cancelled a previous agreement to buy 300,000 tons of U.S. soybeans.

January soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settled 1.2% lower at 49.17 cents a pound Tuesday reflecting the sharp 2% slide in CBOT soybeans Tuesday.

However, losses were tempered by fears that rains in Argentina, the world's third-largest soybeans producer, could delay soybean crop plantings further, the second trader said, noting that this was also positive for CPO prices.

Macroeconomic factors –signs that U.S. lawmakers are nearing a deal to avert the fiscal cliff and an upgrade in Greece's credit rating by Standard & Poor's Tuesday-also supported palm oil prices, he said.
Malaysia's palm oil export data for the Dec. 1-20 period from cargo surveyors Intertek Agri Services and SGS (Malaysia) Bhd., due Thursday, will also impact prices, traders said.

Market participants project Malaysia's Dec. 1-20 palm oil shipments at around 1 million tons, a drop of 2% from the same period a month earlier. Any significant deviation in export figures will likely prompt investors to adjust their positions accordingly.

In the cash market, refined palm olein for January shipment was offered at $760/ton while cash CPO was offered at MYR2,150/ton.
Open interest on the BMD was 181,727 lots, versus 183,945 lots Tuesday. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons.
A total of 25,722 lots of CPO were traded versus 30,911 lots Tuesday.

 
Ending BMD Crude Palm Oil (CPO) futures prices in MYR/ton: 
 
Month   Close  Previous  Change   High    Low 
Jan'13  2,191     2,197    -06   2,200  2,176 
Feb'13  2,267     2,277    -10   2,274  2,250 
Mar'13  2,331     2,342    -11   2,338  2,313 
Apr'13  2,391     2,400    -09   2,396  2,373 
 

Write to Surabhi Sahu at surabhi.sahu@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2012 05:56 ET (10:56 GMT)
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