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KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures were set on Friday for their biggest weekly drop in 18 weeks, as prices fell for a seventh session, weighed down by weakness in rival edible oils.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 12 ringgit, or 0.34%, to 3,557 ringgit ($804.02) a tonne in early trade, hitting its lowest since Oct. 4.
For the week, the contract has slumped 9.3% so far.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Malaysia maintained its April export tax for crude palm oil at 8% and raised its reference price, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Thursday.
* Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 1.6%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 eased 1.2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were up 0.9%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Oil prices fell on worries about potential oversupply after U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said refilling the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve may take several years, making palm oil a less attractive option as biodiesel feedstock. O/R
* Palm oil may drop to 3,420 ringgit per tonne, as suggested by a projection analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares were lower as lingering banking stability concerns gripped Wall Street, while bonds bet the recent slew of rate hikes by central banks will be among the last of the cycle, allowing for policy relief later in the year. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Feb
0700 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Feb
0815 France S&P Global Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0830 Germany S&P Global Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0900 EU S&P Global Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0930 UK Flash Comp, Mfg, Serv PMIs March
1230 US Durable Goods Feb
1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
($1 = 4.4240 ringgit)
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((Meifong.chu@thomsonreuters.com))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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