VEGOILS-Palm dips to end six-day rally as ringgit strengthens
SINGAPORE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures on Thursday retreated from an 18-month high touched in the previous session on a firmer ringgit, ending six sessions of consecutive gains. The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange last fell 0.9% at 2,474 ringgit ($592.57) per tonne. This came after the contract reached an 18-month high on Wednesday on lower output expectations and bullish export sentiment. Weighing on palm prices was a firmer ringgit, which rose 0.1% against the dollar on Thursday, making the edible oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies. "Palm fell today because of a stronger ringgit," a Kuala Lumpur based trader told Reuters. "Also, the market was heavily overbought hence some correction took place," the trader added. Palm oil futures have seen significant gains in the past few sessions as rival oils clocked record highs, and on expectations that palm consumption would increase to meet Malaysia and Indonesia's biofuel push. Malaysia said last week that implementation of the neighbours' biofuels mandates will boost annual consumption up to 1.3 million tonnes and 10 million tonnes a year respectively, adding that they would challenge a European Union law to limit palm oil use in biofuels. Meanwhile, Dalian's January palm oil contract on Thursday last traded 0.8% higher, while the Dalian's soyoil contract fell 0.1%. Elsewhere, U.S. soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade was 0.1% lower. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for share in the global vegetable oils market. FUNDAMENTALS * U.S. corn futures edged lower on Thursday, retreating from a more than one-week high touched in the previous session, though losses were checked by concerns over potential further delays in harvesting North American crops. * Oil prices fell for a fourth day on Wednesday, extending losses after a surge in U.S. inventories surprised investors, overshadowing an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. MARKET NEWS * Asian shares rose on Thursday and U.S. stock futures edged higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected to keep economic expansion on track. * U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record for the second time in three sessions, after a policy statement by the U.S. Federal Reserve that cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. * The dollar dipped against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year but signalled its rate-cut cycle might be at a pause, as was broadly expected. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0030 Australia Building Approvals Sept 0100 China NBS Manufacturing PMI Oct 0745 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY Oct 1000 EU HICP Flash YY Oct 1000 EU HICP-X F&E Flash YY Oct 1000 EU GDP Flash Prelim YY, QQ Q3 1000 EU Unemployment Rate Sept 1230 US Consumption Adjusted MM Sept 1230 US Initial Jobless Claims Weekly Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0251 GMT Contract Mont Last Change Low High Volume h MY PALM OIL JAN0 2381 -29.00 2381 2381 2 MY PALM OIL DEC9 2425 -23.00 2425 2435 124 MY PALM OIL JAN0 2476 -20.00 2470 2484 3665 CHINA PALM JAN0 5226 +32.00 5208 5290 109868 OLEIN 4 CHINA SOYOIL JAN0 6250 -4.00 6232 6304 469228 CBOT SOY OIL DEC9 30.92 -0.06 30.9 31.07 3054 INDIA PALM OCT9 0.00 +0.00 0.00 0 0 OIL INDIA SOYOIL NOV9 771.25 +3.75 768.15 775.65 10770 NYMEX CRUDE DEC9 55.20 +0.14 54.87 55.27 17854 Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel ($1 = 4.1750 ringgit) (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; editing by Uttaresh.V)
