* Palm hits near 3-week high, strongest since start of 2016
* Rise not seen sustaining on lack of bullish factors –
trader
(Updates latest prices)
By Emily Chow
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures
rose tracking an improved Chinese Dalian soybean oil performance
and as physical prices for crude palm oil (CPO) remained firm.
The palm oil contract for April on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.2 percent to 2,469 ringgit
($ 562.03) per tonne at the end of the trading day. Palm had
earlier hit 2,495 ringgit per tonne, its highest in nearly three
weeks since the start of the year.
Traded volume stood at 35,074 lots of 25 tonnes each.
“The market rise is most likely due to Dalian’s strength and
firm physical pricing,” said a trader from Kuala Lumpur,
referring to physical CPO prices.
“Frankly, I’m expecting a drop in the market later as
there’s nothing much to sustain a strong rise.”
Another trader said a weaker Malaysian currency on
Monday could have also helped boost palm prices.
The ringgit had weakened to 4.4170 per dollar on Monday
before gaining by nearly 0.1 percent against the dollar in the
evening. A weaker ringgit lends support to palm prices, as it
makes the tropical oil cheaper for holders of foreign
currencies.
Palm oil may break a resistance at 2,495 ringgit per tonne,
and rise more to the next resistance at 2,535 ringgit, said Wang
Tao, Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy
technicals.
In related markets, U.S. crude futures hit their lowest
since 2003 on Monday, as the market braced for a jump in Iranian
exports after sanctions against the country was lifted.
The May soybean oil contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange rose 0.8 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL FEB6 2351 +2.00 2349 2370 405
MY PALM OIL MAR6 2417 +5.00 2414 2438 6477
MY PALM OIL APR6 2469 +5.00 2467 2495 17060
CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY6 4696 +50.00 4630 4724 1368502
CHINA SOYOIL MAY6 5576 +44.00 5500 5594 697838
CBOT SOY OIL MAR6 29.65 +3.20 0.00 0.00 0
INDIA PALM OIL JAN6 424.90 +3.20 422.50 425.90 780
INDIA SOYOIL JAN6 614.00 +1.05 613.90 617.60 4170
NYMEX CRUDE FEB6 29.20 -0.22 28.36 29.33 30469
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 = 4.3930 ringgit)
($ 1 = 67.7100 Indian rupees)
($ 1 = 6.5779 Chinese yuan)
* For a table on Malaysian physical palm oil prices,
including refined oil, Reuters Terminal users can double click
on or type.
* To view freight rates from Peninsula Malaysia/Sumatra to
China, India, Pakistan and Rotterdam, please key in
and press enter, or double click between the brackets.
* Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures edible oil
prices by double clicking on the codes in the brackets: To go to
the next page in the same chain, hit F12. To go back, hit F11.
Vegetable oils —
Malaysian palm oil exports —
CBOT soyoil futures —
CBOT soybean futures —
Indian solvent —
Weekly Indian vegetable oils —
Dalian Commodity Exchange —
Dalian soyoil futures —
Dalian refined palm oil futures —
Zhengzhou rapeseed oil —
European edible oil prices/trades —
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Sunil Nair)
