KUALA LUMPUR, July 16: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended 1.7 per cent lower on Monday as prices of rival soybean oil fell and estimates from a cargo surveyor showed weakening exports, traders said.
The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 43 ringgit to 2,540 ringgit ($738) a ton.
Exports have just not lived up to expectations for the first 15 days, said another trader. It is a set-back but the market seems to be confident that exports will pick up, sooner or later.” Industry officials said earlier palm oil demand should get stronger from July as buyers locked in supplies for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in September.
Other traded months fell between 4 and 53 ringgit in overall trade of 10,720 lots of 25 tons each.
Palm oil is more than 8 per cent off a historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in early June on robust demand from top importers China and India and dwindling supplies at home.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for July 1-15 fell 6.8 per cent to 470,320 tons, from 504,501 tons shipped between June 1 and 15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.
August soybean oil in electronic trade during Asian hours lost 1.5 per cent to 37.40 cents a pound.
Malaysian palm oil takes its cue from the US soyaoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from biscuits to lipstick and biodiesel.
October palm oil on Singapore's Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange fell $3.75 to $744.50 a ton.
In the physical market, crude palm oil for July shipment in Malaysia's southern region were quoted at 2,660/2,670 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 2,665 and 2,680 ringgit.—Reuters
