Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's
derivatives exchange edged lower Friday, as ample supplies and tepid
demand kept a lid on prices.
The benchmark May contract at Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives ended 1.3% lower at 2,367 ringgit ($765) a metric
ton, the lowest since Jan. 14.
Palm oil is also down 1.3% this week, as
weak export demand fueled concern of stockpiles staying near record
levels in February in Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil
producer.
Inventories totaled 2.58 million metric
tons at the end of January, from December's all-time high of 2.63
million tons, showed data from industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil
Board.
MPOB will issue February crop data on March 11.
"Until signs of better demand emerge, we
expect palm oil stockpiles to stay above 2 million tons over the next
few months," said an analyst at a local bank.
Cargo surveyors Intertek Agri Services
and SGS (Malaysia) Bhd. said shipments fell in February by 9.1% and
8.8%, respectively, from the month prior.
Planters and traders will meet in Kuala
Lumpur next week to discuss the supply-demand outlook, and to hear price
forecasts from oilseed analysts Godrej International trading head Dorab
Mistry and LMC International Chairman James Fry.
Palm oil will trade sideways next week,
moving in a range of MYR2,300/ton to MYR2,420/ton, as traders stay away
ahead of the annual palm oil conference starting Tuesday, said a trading
executive at foreign brokerage.
In the cash market, refined palm olein
for March was offered at $810/ton, while cash CPO for prompt shipment
was offered at MYR2,360/ton.
Open interest on the BMD was 160,500 lots, versus 163,550 lots Thursday. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons.
A total of 35,258 lots of CPO were traded versus 54,738 lots Thursday.
Ending BMD CPO futures prices in MYR/ton:
Month Close Previous Change High Low
Mar 2,350 2,375 -25 2,372 2,340
Apr 2,360 2,387 -27 2,393 2,362
May 2,367 2,397 -30 2,405 2,369
Jun 2,377 2,405 -28 2,412 2,380
