Asian Crude Palm Oil Ends Up On Soyoil, Crude; May Rise More (11 Feb 2010)
Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's derivatives exchange ended higher Thursday amid supportive cues from soyoil and crude oil futures, said trade participants. Bullish cues of lower stocks and output also helped buoy prices.
The benchmark April CPO contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended MYR17 up at MYR2,580 a metric ton, after trading in a MYR2,575-MYR2,594/ton range.
CPO prices may continue the uptrend prices have been rising for eight consecutive days as February and March output are expected to be lower, said Alvin Tai, an analyst with OSK Research. On Wednesday, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board released data saying palm oil inventories declined to 2.0 million tons in January, with output falling to a nine-month low at 1.32 million tons. "Lower inventories coupled with lower output should provide support for CPO prices. We may see prices exceeding MYR2,600 soon," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.
March soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade traded higher during Asian trading hours, with the contract rising by 21 points to 38.48 cents a pound on e-CBOT at the end of BMD trade. Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were also up, with the March contract rising by $0.46 to $73.00 a barrel at the end of BMD trade.
In the cash market, palm olein for April/May/June traded at $787.50/ton, said a Singapore-based trader. Cash CPO for prompt shipment was offered MYR20 higher at MYR2,600/ton. Open interest on the BMD was 77,624 lots Thursday, down slightly from 77,648 lots. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons. Some 12,763 lots of CPO were traded versus 11,661 lots Wednesday.