Palm oil futures lower

Published October 16, 2008

JAKARTA, Oct 15: Malaysian palm oil futures ended down nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday on fears that a decline in exports would lead to a build-up of stocks of palm oil products, traders said.

A decline in crude oil and soybean prices also dented sentiment as it heightened fears of a global recession.

News of falling exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct. 1-15, heightened concerns of a build-up in stocks, although the news was not surprising.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct. 1-15 fell 9.1 per cent to 560,210 tons, from 616,138 tons shipped between Sept. 1-15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Wednesday.

Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said on Wednesday exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct.

1-15 fell 9.2 per cent to 549,798 tons, from 605,786 tons shipped between Sept. 1 and 15. The situation now is buyers are still in the waiting game while sellers unfortunately do the same.

On the buy side, people think price is still on the way down, while sellers think the market is oversold, at analyst at Singapore-based brokerage said.

In the physical market, Malaysian palm oil products stood at 1,755/1,770 ringgit per ton in the southern region and 1,750/1770 ringgit a ton in the central region. Trades were done at 1,780-1,790 in the southern region and 1,750-1,780 in the central region.

In Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, the state marketing centre, which sells palm oil from state plantations, said it did not hold an auction for the local market today.

Producers in Medan -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s key port for palm oil exports -- did not hold an auction either, a trader said.

Meanwhile, refiners offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein, which is used in cooking oil, at 5,350-5,400 rupiah per kg, down from at 5,550-5,600 rupiah per kg on Tuesday.-—Reuters

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