* Palm rises after two previous losing sessions
* Market helped by weaker ringgit, exports – trader
* Palm could rise towards 2,629 ringgit – technicals
(Updates latest prices)
By Emily Chow
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Reuters) – Malaysian benchmark palm
oil futures rose on Monday as a weaker ringgit spurred
buying and data showed exports continued to grow in the first
half of May.
The palm oil contract for August delivery on the
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was 1.1 percent higher at
2,587 ringgit ($ 643) per tonne at the close of trade.
Traded volumes were 37,951 lots of 25 tonnes each on Monday
evening compared with a 2015 daily average of 44,600.
“The ringgit was weaker and exports rose, though at a slower
growth rate from before,” said a trader based in Kuala Lumpur,
referring to export data from a cargo surveyor.
Malaysian palm oil shipments rose 14-16 percent in the first
half of May compared with the same period a month ago, according
to data from Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de
Surveillance.
Previous export data for the May 1-10 period showed exports
had risen 22-32 percent from April 1-10.
A weaker ringgit versus the U.S. dollar also supported palm
oil prices since as it makes the vegetable oil cheaper for
holders of foreign currencies. The ringgit initially fell 0.2
percent before rising 0.05 percent against the dollar later.
Palm oil is expected to find support at 2,559 ringgit per
tonne and then bounce towards resistance at 2,629 ringgit,
according to technical analysis by Wang Tao, a Reuters market
analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
In competing vegetable oils, the September soybean oil
contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 2.1
percent while the Chicago Board of Trade soyoil contract for
August was up 0.2 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1110 GMT:
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JUN6 2625 +22.00 2599 2635 613
MY PALM OIL JUL6 2608 +25.00 2585 2624 9206
MY PALM OIL AUG6 2586 +27.00 2562 2599 17229
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP6 5176 -90.00 5104 5252 1057704
CHINA SOYOIL SEP6 5974 -128.0 5938 6064 840246
0
CBOT SOY OIL JUL6 32.65 -2.90 32.28 32.66 5690
INDIA PALM OIL MAY6 544.40 -2.90 542.70 548.2 832
INDIA SOYOIL MAY6 636.55 -1.90 636.5 639.3 470
NYMEX CRUDE JUN6 47.23 +1.02 46.15 47.27 72057
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 = 4.0250 ringgit)
($ 1 = 66.8000 Indian rupees)
($ 1 = 6.5217 Chinese yuan)
(Editing by Christian Schmollinger and David Clarke)
