* Palm oil prices supported by weaker ringgit
* August output up 12.96 pct from pvs month-MPOB
* Palm oil stocks at end-August up 10 pct-MPOB
By Emily Chow
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on
Thursday, hovering near their six-week high on the back of a weaker ringgit,
though data showing rising production and inventory weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark November contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives
Exchange had gained 0.8 percent by the midday break at 2,129 ringgit ($ 490.10) a
tonne.
Palm hit a six-week high of 2,132 ringgit on Wednesday on technical buying
and short-covering ahead of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) production and
inventory data.
Traded volume stood at 17,327 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the average of
13,500 lots at the end of the morning session.
“The rise in production and stockpiles was within market expectations, the
ringgit is the main factor driving the market today,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based
trader.
Malaysia’s palm oil stocks at the end of August rose 10 percent to 2.49
million tonnes from a revised 2.27 million tonnes at the end of July, industry
regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said.
Palm oil output in the world’s second largest producer rose 12.96 percent
from a month earlier in August, data released by MPOB showed.
Palm oil is expected to rise to 2,171 ringgit as it has broken a resistance
at 2,113 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy
technicals Wang Tao.
The Malaysian currency has provided some support to the vegetable oil
in recent weeks as a weaker ringgit makes palm cheaper for offshore buyers. It
is emerging Asia’s worst performing currency this year, having lost nearly 20
percent so far. It lost 0.4 percent against the dollar at 4.3420 by midday on
Thursday.
In competing vegetable oil markets, the most active January soybean oil
contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was 0.3 percent lower, while
the U.S. December soyoil contract was down 0.04 percent.
Crude oil prices fell slightly in early trading, as shrinking Japanese
machinery orders fuelled concerns over an already slowing Asian growth.
Palm oil often takes price direction from crude oil, as vegetable oils are
increasingly used in making renewable fuels.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0528 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL SEP5 0 +0.00 0 0 0
MY PALM OIL OCT5 2066 +9.00 2046 2066 613
MY PALM OIL NOV5 2129 +16.00 2099 2130 7238
CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6 4318 -18.00 4280 4344 603458
CHINA SOYOIL JAN6 5402 -16.00 5368 5422 403544
CBOT SOY OIL DEC5 26.90 +2.30 26.78 26.94 3623
INDIA PALM OIL SEP5 382.40 +2.30 381.10 383.50 421
INDIA SOYOIL OCT5 560.70 +0.55 560.30 561.50 5195
NYMEX CRUDE OCT5 43.94 -0.21 43.36 44.25 14408
Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne
CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound
Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne
India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
($ 1 = 4.3440 ringgit)
($ 1 = 66.6500 Indian rupees)
($ 1 = 6.3837 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
