Palm oil flat in rangebound trading, higher July exports underpin sentiment

Malaysian palm oil futures was little changed on Monday after trading in a tight range, with a surge in July exports so far underpinning the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 3 ringgit, or 0.08%, to 3,902 ringgit ($856.45) a tonne by the midday break.

The contract traded sideways on conflicting data signals – higher exports, firmer Ringgit and directionless related vegetable oils on the Dalian exchange, said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for July 1-15 rose 16.7% from the same week in June, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said on Saturday. Another cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said exports rose 19.3%.

Indonesia has rules mandating palm oil exporters sell a portion of their output to the domestic market, a senior official said on Monday, as the country prepares for full nationwide implementation of its B35 programme.

Malaysia has maintained its August export tax for crude palm oil at 8% and raised its reference price, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Friday.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 0.02%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 gained 0.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were up 1.2%.

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 rise into a range of 3,921 ringgit to 3,949 ringgit per metric ton, as a correction from 3,995 ringgit may have completed, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Rashmi Aich)