Malaysian palm oil price rebounds to strongest since mid-2014

CIMB Equities Research said IOI Corporation Bhd 1QFY6/16 core net profit (excluding forex translation loss) accounted for 14% of its full-year forecast and 12% of consensus estimates

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures saw their biggest rise in one-and-a-half months on Tuesday, rebounding by nearly 3 percent from sharp losses in the previous session, on a weaker ringgit and expectations of lower future production.
    In 2015, palm oil prices climbed almost 10 percent as the weak ringgit, Asia's worst performing currency last year, made the commodity cheaper for holders of other currencies, while a strengthening El Nino and worries that dryness linked to the weather event would dent yields also underpinned the market.
    "Today's main factor is the ringgit, and there may be some pre-holiday covering interest," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader from a brokerage firm, referring to the Lunar New Year
celebrations from Feb. 7-8.
    "Trade is pegging February's output to be lower than January's," said another trader from Kuala Lumpur.
    The palm oil contract for April on the Bursa
Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 2.9 percent to 2,514
ringgit ($597.86) per tonne at the close of trade. It earlier
reached a 20-month high of 2,523 ringgit, its strongest since
May 28, 2014. 
    Traded volume stood at 62,083 lots of 25 tonnes each. 
    Palm production in Malaysia is seen rising only 0.7 percent
this year, while Indonesian output is forecast at 35 million
tonnes from 32.5 million tonnes in 2015, according to government
officials.  
    The ringgit weakened 1.3 percent against the dollar
to reach 4.205 on Tuesday evening, weighed down by falling oil
prices and concerns over Malaysia's debt-laden state fund
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). 
    Switzerland's chief prosecutor said on Friday a criminal
investigation into 1MDB had revealed that about $4 billion
appeared to have been misappropriated from Malaysian state
companies. 
    Crude oil prices  slipped to $33 a barrel over
concerns of rising global supplies and an economic slowdown in
top energy consumer China. 
    The U.S. March soyoil contract rose 1 percent, while
the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange gained 1.2 percent.
    
  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1027 GMT
                                                                                   
  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      FEB6    2418   +69.00    2347    2421     417
  MY PALM OIL      MAR6    2483   +72.00    2422    2491    4237
  MY PALM OIL      APR6    2514   +71.00    2450    2523   32366
  CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY6    4778   +70.00    4702    4780  706536
  CHINA SOYOIL     MAY6    5660   +68.00    5592    5662  394286
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAR6   31.06    +3.50   30.72   31.19    7306
  INDIA PALM OIL   FEB6  452.20    +3.50  450.80  454.50    1421
  INDIA SOYOIL     FEB6  618.50    +3.15  615.80  619.50   18150
  NYMEX CRUDE      MAR6   30.47    -1.15   30.39   31.53   78109
                                                                                   
  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 = 4.2050 ringgit)
($1 = 67.9550 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.5794 Chinese yuan)
- Reuters