Palm futures rebound to gain 4% amid labour shortage

July 14, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures rose nearly 4% early Thursday, rebounding from steep losses in the previous session, with production woes supporting sentiment after Indonesia stopped sending its workers to labour-starved estates in Malaysia.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 133 ringgit, or 3.54%, at 3,894 ringgit ($877.03) a tonne, as of 0303 GMT.

Palm fell 8.6% in the previous session to a one-year closing low on expectations of weak July exports.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Indonesia said on Wednesday it has temporarily stopped sending its citizens to work in Malaysia, including thousands recruited for the plantation sector, citing a breach in a worker recruitment deal signed between the two countries. Read full story

* The plantation sector will be the worst affected by the freeze order as it is more reliant on Indonesian workers for harvesting activities in the estates — critical for the upcoming peak production months, Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CGS-CIMB Research, said in a note.

* "The delay could lead to palm oil production for the second half of 2022 falling below the level from a year ago," she added.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 1.4%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 gained 1%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were up 1.3%.

* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Palm oil may test a support at 3,592 ringgit per tonne, a break below could open the way towards 3,284 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Reuters