March 17, 2009 3:03 GMT+8 MALAYSIAN crude palm oil futures dropped 1.5 per cent yesterday as crude oil slid sharply, offsetting better-than-expected shipments of the vegetable oil, traders said.Prices of palm oil have fallen 57 per cent from a record level of RM4,486 per tonne last year on weaker energy and commodity markets along with high stock levels, which are just coming down.
“It was a day for palm oil to rally and shine but Organisations of the petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) reluctance to put in new production cuts has dampened oil and commodities markets,” said a trader with a local commodities brokerage.
Other traders said palm oil would outpace soya oil in line with industry analysts’ predictions last week.
The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down RM28 at RM1,902 per tonne after going as high as RM1,948.
Other traded months fell RM11 and RM86. Overall volumes jumped to 15,293 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual 10,000 lots.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-15 rose 16.18 per cent to 591,567 tonnes from 509,200 tonnes shipped between Feb. 1 and 15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said yesterday.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported 19.8 per cent increase to 592,071 tonnes in the same period.
Oil fell more than 3 per cent yesterday, to below US$45 (US$1 = RM3.66) a barrel, as traders questioned whether OPEC’s decision to enforce better compliance with previous curbs instead of new production cuts was enough to stem eroding demand.
In the Malaysian physical market, palm oil for March were quoted at RM2,025-RM2,030 per tonne in the southern region.
Trades were done between RM2,020 and RM2,030. - Reuters
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