* Expectations of lower output also provide support-trader
* Ringgit falls to its weakest since March 16
(Updates latest prices)
By Emily Chow
KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures
recovered from the previous session’s near three-month low on
Tuesday, supported by a weaker ringgit while gains in
rival oils also boosted sentiment.
The contract for August delivery on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had risen 0.4 percent to 2,503
ringgit ($ 608) per tonne at the end of the trading day. It hit
its lowest level since March 3 on Monday, dragged down by losses
in Chinese vegetable oils.
Traded volume stood at 30,536 lots of 25 tonnes each on
Tuesday evening, lower than the 2015 daily average of 44,600.
“The U.S. dollar has strengthened, and markets have
recovered a bit on the Dalian,” said a trader from Kuala Lumpur,
referring to the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
“Nearby tightness on supply also created some buying.”
The ringgit lost as much as 1.1 percent to 4.1290 per
dollar, its weakest since March 16, as most Malaysian government
bond prices slipped. The currency was down 0.9 percent at 4.1200
per dollar in the evening, making palm oil cheaper for holders
of foreign currencies.
Better performing rival oils on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange also boosted prices of Malaysian palm. The most
actively traded September contract for palm olein
gained 0.4 percent, while the September soybean oil contract
rose 0.3 percent.
Expectations of lower output in May and early June, due to
the impact from a crop-damaging El Nino weather event, also lent
support to palm, said the Kuala Lumpur-based trader.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said that the strongest
El Nino in nearly 20 years that persisted through 2016 is now
over.
In other vegetable oils, the Chicago Board of Trade soyoil
contract for August was down 0.2 percent.
The offer price for crude palm kernel oil stood at 4910.78
ringgit per tonne (PKO-MYSTH-M1) in the evening, according to
price assessments by Thomson Reuters.
Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1034 GMT:
Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume
MY PALM OIL JUN6 2540 +21.00 2539 2554 116
MY PALM OIL JUL6 2523 +10.00 2522 2540 5103
MY PALM OIL AUG6 2503 +10.00 2499 2519 14999
CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP6 5058 +22.00 4980 5084 830054
CHINA SOYOIL SEP6 5806 +14.00 5712 5842 675760
CBOT SOY OIL JUL6 31.11 -0.13 31 31.26 4469
INDIA PALM OIL MAY6 530.00 -0.15 529.70 534.9 575
INDIA SOYOIL JUN6 639 +0.05 638.3 643.4 39680
NYMEX CRUDE JUL6 47.91 -0.17 47.64 48.12 53562
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 = 4.1200 ringgit)
($ 1 = 67.6500 Indian rupees)
($ 1 = 6.5538 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and
William Hardy)
