VEGOILS-Palm oil rises for third day on expected higher biofuel demand
SINGAPORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday on expectations for higher biofuel demand, though a stronger ringgit and cheaper rival oils capped gains. The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.7% to 2,338 ringgit ($559.06) per tonne at 0233 GMT. Dalian's January palm oil contract was down 0.2% on Thursday, while the January soyoil contract was 0.5% lower. Elsewhere, U.S. soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade last traded flat on Thursday. A Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters that biofuel demand from Indonesia and Malaysia probably provided underlying support to prices, adding that whether or not the "surprise" uptick can sustain will depend on the prices of rival oils. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for share in the global vegetable oils market. The ringgit was up 0.1% against the dollar on Thursday, making the edible oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies. "Palm oil prices are going in the direction of a broader uptrend backed by lower production and expectations of higher biodiesel consumption by B20 in Malaysia and B30 in Indonesia next year," said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker. Bagani is referring to plans by Malaysia to require fuel to have 20% bio-content in the form of palm oil and Indonesia to require 30%. Malaysia said earlier this week that implementation of biofuels mandates in Malaysia and Indonesia will increase consumption of palm oil up to 1.3 million tonnes and 10 million tonnes per year, respectively, adding that the two countries will challenge a European Union law that will limit palm oil use in biofuels. FUNDAMENTALS * Chicago wheat futures rose for a second session on Thursday with prices underpinned by strong demand and tightening world supplies. * Oil prices dipped on Thursday on lingering concerns about a weak demand outlook, after surging more than 2% in the previous session after a surprise draw in U.S. crude stocks. MARKET NEWS * Asian shares pulled ahead on Thursday with corporate earnings buffeting trading as investors remained anxious about the business impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war while Brexit uncertainties kept overall sentiment in check. * U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors shrugged off lacklustre quarterly reports from industrial bellwethers Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc, though a lower-than-expected revenue outlook from Texas Instruments Inc sent chipmakers' shares lower. * The British pound stabilised on Thursday as the Brexit project entered a fresh holding pattern, while the dollar held firm as traders took a breather from Sino-U.S. trade headlines. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0815 France Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Oct 0830 Germany Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Oct 0900 EU Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Oct 1145 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Oct 1145 EU ECB Deposit Rate Oct 1230 Germany ECB President Mario Draghi holds a press conference after interest rate meeting. Governing Council of the ECB holds monetary policy meeting. 1230 US Durable goods Sept 1230 US Initial Jobless Claims Weekly 1345 US Markit Mfg, Serv, Comp PMIs Oct 1400 US New Home Sales-Units Sept Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0249 GMT Contract Mont Last Change Low High Volume h MY PALM OIL JAN0 2251 +12.00 2250 2251 20 MY PALM OIL DEC9 2301 +18.00 2288 2303 175 MY PALM OIL JAN0 2342 +20.00 2328 2344 2146 CHINA PALM JAN0 4932 +4.00 4876 4934 313718 OLEIN CHINA SOYOIL JAN0 6070 -24.00 6038 6090 253478 CBOT SOY OIL DEC9 30.63 +0.05 30.53 30.63 1303 INDIA PALM OCT9 0.00 +0.00 0.00 0 0 OIL INDIA SOYOIL NOV9 755.7 -0.45 755.15 758.8 8470 NYMEX CRUDE DEC9 55.51 -0.46 55.45 55.94 24342 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 = 4.1820 ringgit) (Reporting by Fathin Ungku, editing by Christian Schmollinger)
