VEGOILS-Palm slips on poor exports outlook, set for worst week in 2 months
SINGAPORE, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures inched down on Friday on expectations of lower exports and were set for their biggest weekly decline in two months. The benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was 0.2% lower at 2,717 ringgit ($651.56) per tonne in early trade. The contract is down 1.4% so far this week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since late September. The weakness was due to worries that exports in November were lower than the month before, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters. Exports of the commodity are expected to be lower as India looks to soy and sunflower oil amid higher palm prices, which are up 28.5% so far this year. But increased buying from China for the upcoming Lunar New Year will offset much of the drop and any fall in exports will be marginal, the trader said. Malaysian palm oil futures had firmed more than 1% on Thursday after Indonesia announced its plan for a biodiesel push to reduce fossil fuel use by 165,000 barrels per day (bpd) and as supply outlook dimmed. Also dragging prices was a stronger ringgit, which rose 0.1%, making the edible oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies. However, losses were capped by costlier rival oils on the Dalian Commodities Exchange. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for share in the global vegetable oils market. Dalian's January palm oil contract rose 1%, while the soyoil contract edged up 0.3%. Palm oil may rise into a range of 2,760-2,818 ringgit per tonne, as it has cleared a resistance at 2,713 ringgit, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao. FUNDAMENTALS * U.S. soybean futures slid to a two-month low on Wednesday on technical selling and expectations that increased rains will benefit crops in rival shipper South America. * Oil prices were steady on Friday in quiet trade with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday underway, while investors awaited a meeting of OPEC and its allies next week that may result in the extension of a production cut agreement to support the market. MARKET NEWS * Global shares ticked up on Friday, but hesitated to test an all-time peak as investors worried a new U.S. law backing Hong Kong protests could derail Washington's and Beijing's efforts to end their trade war. * The dollar headed for its highest weekly finish against the safe-haven yen since May on Friday, as data showing the U.S. economy on a firm footing prompted investors to scale back rate-cut bets. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 UK Nationwide House Price MM YY Nov 0745 France GDP QQ Final Q3 0745 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY Nov 0855 Germany Unemployment Chg, Rate SA Nov 1000 EU HICP Flash YY Nov 1000 EU HICP-X F&E Flash YY Nov 1000 EU Unemployment Rate Oct 1200 India GDP Quarterly YY Q2 PALM, CRUDE, SOY OIL PRICES AT 0257 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL DEC9 2716 -7.00 2713 2726 2442 MY PALM OIL JAN0 2698 -2.00 2693 2700 394 MY PALM OIL FEB0 2716 -7.00 2713 2726 2442 CHINA PALM JAN0 5486 +54.00 5466 5518 115180 OLEIN 0 CHINA SOYOIL JAN0 6236 +16.00 6224 6278 187324 CBOT SOY OIL JAN0 30.5 +0.00 0 0 0 INDIA PALM NOV9 0.00 +0.00 0.00 0 0 OIL INDIA SOYOIL DEC9 810.6 +7.55 798.35 811.4 19250 NYMEX CRUDE JAN0 58.06 -0.05 57.64 58.30 153052 ($1 = 4.1700 ringgit) (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Aditya Soni)
