Palm slips ahead of MPOB, cargo surveyor data

January 10, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Monday ahead of key official and cargo surveyor data, with market participants anticipating a sharp drop in January exports so far.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 13 ringgit, or 0.26%, to 4,980 ringgit ($1,186.00) a tonne in early trade after rising for three consecutive weeks.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is scheduled to release its December supply and demand data later in the day. Cargo surveyors will also report export data for Jan. 1-10 later.

* A Reuters poll last week pegged December inventories to decline 4.9% month-on-month to 1.73 million tonnes, but traders are expecting a sharper drop after the Malaysian Palm Oil Association estimated a steeper fall in production.

* Exports during Jan. 1-10 likely declined about 40% from the previous month, traders said.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract gained 0.6%, while its palm oil contract rose 0.2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.5%.

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

* Palm oil still targets 5,094 ringgit per tonne, as suggested by its wave pattern, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

MARKET NEWS

* Major share markets were muted as investors count down to another U.S. inflation reading that could well set the seal on an early rate hike from the Federal Reserve, lifting bond yields and punishing tech stocks.

Reuters