Palm tracks overnight gains in Chicago soyoil

April 08, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures climbed on Friday and were set for a weekly rise, tracking overnight gains in Chicago soyoil, while an industry estimate of a bigger-than-expected increase in March production capped the advance.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 49 ringgit, or 0.84%, to 5,876 ringgit ($1,392.42) a tonne in early trade.

For the week, the contract has gained 5.6%.

FUNDAMENTALS

The Malaysian Palm Oil Association on Thursday forecast a 19% monthly rise in March production to 1.35 million tonnes, according to traders. That is higher than a Reuters' poll pegging a 16% rise. PALM/POLL

Traders are now awaiting official data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board due on Monday.

Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures firmed on Thursday, supported by downgraded South American production and steady U.S. exports.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.2% after a 1.7% overnight gain. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 0.8%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 fell 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 looks neutral in a range of 5,744 ringgit to 5,966 ringgit per tonne, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. 

MARKET NEWS

Stocks headed for a weekly loss as the prospect of aggressive global rate hikes finally began to rattle investors, while bonds fell and the dollar looked set for its best week in a month. 

Oil prices inched up but were set to fall around 3% for the week after consuming countries agreed to release 240 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks to help offset the disrupted Russian supply.

Reuters