Palm oil tracks rival oils higher

August 12, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday, tracking gains in rival oils and was set to post a weekly gain on supportive exports data this week.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange climbed 0.47% to 4,284 ringgit ($965.41) per tonne during early trade.

The contract has gained around 10% this week.

FUNDAMENTALS

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Aug. 1-10 rose around 10% monthly, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Service and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said. Societe Generale de Surveillance, however, reported a 16% drop in exports during the same period. 

Rival Indonesia exported 2.33 million tonnes of palm oil and its refined products in June, helping ease its stock to 6.68 million tonnes by the end-June, from 7.23 million tonnes in May, Indonesia Palm Oil Association said on Thursday. 

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYv1 was up 0.34%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 rose 1.17%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOc2 were down 1.01%.

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 rise to 4,452 ringgit, as it has more or less broken resistance at 4,269 ringgit per tonne, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. 

MARKET NEWS

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the red while Treasury yields rose, as investors digested signs of cooling U.S. inflation and hopes the Federal Reserve could slow interest rate hikes against warnings that the battle with rising prices was far from over. 

Oil prices dipped in early trade amid uncertainty on the demand outlook based on contrasting views from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA), but benchmark contracts were headed for weekly gains as recession fears eased.

Reuters