* Palm gains after 2 sessions of losses, but sees 2nd weekly
loss
* Short-covering seen on better export demand -trader
* Exports for May 1-20 rise 6-9 percent -ITS & SGS
* Palm may test support at 2,500 rgt/t -technicals
(Updates latest prices)
By Emily Chow
KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Reuters) – Benchmark Malaysian palm
oil futures rose on short-covering on Friday following two
sessions of losses and as surveys showed exports picked up in
May, but lost more than 2 percent on the week, its second
straight weekly decline.
Malaysian palm oil shipments rose 6-9 percent during May
1-20, lifted by exports to India and Pakistan on demand ahead of
the Ramadan festival, data from two cargo surveyors showed on
Friday.
The Muslim holy season of Ramadan, which starts in early
June this year, entails a month of fasting and feasting. This
means demand for palm oil used in cooking is typically higher in
palm consuming markets such as India, Pakistan and the Middle
East.
The palm oil contract for August delivery on the
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.3 percent to 2,527
ringgit ($ 620) per tonne at the close of trade, recovering from
an intraday low of 2,505 ringgit, which was also a fresh 10-week
low for the commodity.
Palm however lost 2.6 percent this week, a second
consecutive weekly loss.
Traded volumes stood at 49,019 lots of 25 tonnes each on
Friday compared with a 2015 daily average of 44,600.
“At current levels the trade is aware that fundamentals
remain bullish and will remain so next month with the fasting
month,” said a trader in Kuala Lumpur.
“Thus the short-covering at current low levels reflects the
above scenario.”
Palm oil may however test a support at 2,500 ringgit per
tonne, with a good chance of breaking below this level and
falling further towards the next support at 2,484 ringgit, a
technical analysis by Wang Tao, Reuters’ market analyst for
commodities and energy technicals, showed.
In related vegetable oils, the Chicago Board of Trade soyoil
contract for August was down 0.3 percent, while the
September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange lost 1.3 percent.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1019 GMT:
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JUN6 2558 +6.00 2544 2569 256
MY PALM OIL JUL6 2548 +11.00 2522 2559 8638
MY PALM OIL AUG6 2527 +8.00 2505 2539 23885
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP6 5146 -16.00 5036 5164 750316
CHINA SOYOIL SEP6 5902 -76.00 5814 5932 678872
CBOT SOY OIL JUL6 31.8 +5.20 31.74 31.99 7987
INDIA PALM OIL MAY6 531.90 +5.20 529.30 533.7 1096
INDIA SOYOIL MAY6 630.7 +2.05 629.9 631 740
NYMEX CRUDE JUN6 48.33 +0.17 48.19 48.79 1836
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 = 4.0780 ringgit)
($ 1 = 67.4250 Indian rupees)
($ 1 = 6.5452 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
