KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)–Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's derivatives exchange rebounded Thursday on short covering following recent losses and as investors squared off positions ahead of the New Year holiday.
The benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed MYR55 or 1.5% higher at MYR3,788 a metric ton after moving in a MYR3,707-MYR3,792 range. Palm oil has gained 41% this year. The market will be closed Friday for a public holiday.
Market talk about December exports not being weak as previously thought lifted market sentiment and boosted prices during afternoon trade.
Cargo surveyor SGS (Malaysia) Bhd. pegged December exports at 1.26 million tons, down 20% on month, close to traders' forecast of exports around 1.30 million tons. Another surveyor, Intertek Agri Services, is due to issue December estimates on Friday.
SGS and Intertek estimated November shipments reached 1.57 million tons and 1.51 million tons, respectively.
Palm oil prices rose to a fresh 33-month high on Dec. 28 on concerns that global vegetable oil supplies will tighten further as soybean crops in South America are under duress due to dry conditions and as heavier-than-usual rains disrupt oil palm harvesting in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The government-linked Malaysian Palm Oil Board had, at the beginning of the year, pegged output at 18.1 million tons, but persistently bad weather–El Nino-induced dry spells and heavier-than-usual rain linked to the La Nina phenomenon–forced the industry regulator to lower its forecast to 17.2 million tons, making it the second consecutive year of zero output growth for Malaysia's palm oil output.
Production reached 17.6 million tons in 2009.
"The combination of weather issues and supply constraints should lead to lower forecasts in soybean stocks and palm oil end-month inventory levels," said S. Paramalingam, executive director at Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari Sdn. Bhd.
"Prices should range between MYR3,800 and MYR3,900 in the first quarter of 2011."
Global consumption of vegetable oils for food and biofuels will likely grow by 4.5 million tons during the year to March 2011, while growth in supply of those oils will likely be 3.5 million tons due to weak production growth in other crops, making it the third year in a row of incremental supply falling short of incremental demand, leading analyst Dorab Mistry said earlier this month.
In the cash market, palm olein for January was traded at $1,235/ton, April, May, June at $1,212.50 and July, August, September at $1,195/ton, free on board Malaysian ports, said a Singapore-based physical market broker.
Cash CPO for prompt delivery was offered MYR40 higher at MYR3,820/ton.
Open interest on the BMD was 87,737 lots, versus 88,107 lots Wednesday. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons.
A total of 14,510 lots of CPO were traded versus 11,599 lots Wednesday.
Closing BMD Crude Palm Oil (CPO) futures prices in MYR/ton at 1000 GMT: Month Close Previous Change High LowJan'11 3,814 3,781 Up 33 3,814 3,750Feb'11 3,788 3,765 Up 55 3,805 3,748Mar'11 3,788 3,733 Up 55 3,792 3,707Apr'11 3,768 3,705 Up 63 3,768 3,684