KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell to a one-week low in the later trading session on Wednesday, as sentiment was dampened by data showing weak October exports and rising September stockpiles.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.7 per cent at 2,190 ringgit ($527.52) a tonne at the end of the trading day.

It earlier fell to an intraday low of 2,181 ringgit, its weakest levels since Oct 3. Trading volumes stood at 55,961 lots of 25 tonnes each at the close of trade.

“The market fell in the evening on the rising end-stocks data ... and expected lower exports for October,” said a Kuala Lumpur based futures trader. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board reported earlier in the day that inventories in September rose 1.45pc to 2.54 million tonnes, an eight-month top, while production was up 14.38pc to 1.85m tonnes. Meanwhile, exports jumped 47.18pc to 1.62m tonnes from the previous month. Malaysian palm oil shipments from Oct 1-10 fell around 39pc from the corresponding period last month, according to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia and cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services. Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a 15.3pc decline in the same shipment period.

In other related oils, the Chicago December soybean oil contract edged down 0.03pc, while January soybean oil on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.8pc.

The Dalian January palm oil contract gained 0.5pc. Palm oil prices are affected by movements of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil may retest support at 2,185 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could cause a fall into the range of 2,162-2,171 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2018