VEGOILS-Palm oil snaps 3-day losing streak as export demand surges

By Mei Mei Chu

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures snapped a three-day losing run on Wednesday on bargain buying amid strong demand for exports.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended up 33 ringgit, or 0.83%, at 4,015 ringgit ($896.21) a tonne, after hitting a near one-month low in the previous session.

Malaysia’s exports during March 1 to 15 rose between 55% and 72% from the same period in February, cargo surveyors said.

The UK government is planning to eliminate import tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia, the price of joining an Asia-Pacific trade deal, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people involved in the talks.

Talks are ongoing to extend a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports ahead of a deadline later this week, the United Nations and Turkey said on Tuesday, after Kyiv rejected a Russian push for a reduced 60-day renewal.

Dalian’s most active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 0.5%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 gained 0.9%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 fell 0.4%.

Oil prices rose as a stronger OPEC outlook on China’s demand helped offset bearish global investor sentiment in the wake of the recent U.S. bank failures, making palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. O/R

Meanwhile, Malaysian palm oil and rubber smallholders filed a petition to the European Union to protest against a new law preventing imports into the bloc of commodities linked to deforestation risks.

($1 = 4.4800 ringgit)

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(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Varun H K and Vinay Dwivedi)

((Meifong.chu@thomsonreuters.com))

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