KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures slipped to a more than one-week low at one point on Thursday as high inventory levels continued to weigh on the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.8 percent at 2,120 ringgit ($520) a tonne by the close of trade, after hitting a more than one-week low of 2,106 ringgit earlier in the session. It charted a fourth session of losses out of the past five trading days.

“The market is down as Dalian came down, and also due to our high stocks,” said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange.

Palm oil inventories in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.3 percent to 3.05 million tonnes in February from a month earlier

Stockpiles reached 3.21 million tonnes in December, the highest since January 2000, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Palm oil may test a resistance at 2,155 ringgit per tonne, as it has found a support at 2,110 ringgit per tonne, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

In other related oils, the Chicago May soybean oil contract fell 0.2 percent, while the May soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange declined 0.8 percent.

The Dalian May palm oil contract slid 1.2 percent. Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil, as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oil market. – Reuters

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/03/29/palm-falls-to-1-week-low-as-high-stocks-weigh-on-market/#p15fGQmq4tG5X4KB.99