Palm oil gains over 1% tracking rival oils

October 18, 2021: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Monday as the contract rolled over to a new month, supported by strength in rival oils on the Dalian and Chicago exchanges.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 61 ringgit, or 1.26%, to 4,920 ringgit ($1,183.83) a tonne during early trade.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Global vegetable oil prices, which have hit multi-year highs in recent months, are set to decline during the first half of 2022 due to a strong recovery in production and inventories, according to a forecast from leading analyst Thomas Mielke.

* The Indian Vegetable Oils Producers Association says it is seeing early signs of demand shifting from palm oil to soft oils after India's duty cut made soft oil more attractive.

* Malaysia's crude palm oil production in 2021 is forecast to decline to 18.4 million tonnes due to a labour shortage and will keep prices above 4,600 ringgit a tonne for the rest of the year, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council said.

* Dalian's most active soyoil contract rose 1.3%, while its palm oil contract gained 1.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.2%.

* 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 retest a resistance zone of 5,032-5,048 ringgit per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain into a range of 5,187-5,274 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

* The Malaysian bourse will be closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.

Reuters