Palm slips almost 2% on weak rival oils, crude
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures traded close to a five-month low on Wednesday, pressured by weaker rival edible oils and crude prices.
The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 84 ringgit, or 1.85%, to 4,467 ringgit ($1,096.20) a metric ton in early trade, extending losses into a third straight session.
FUNDAMENTALS
Crude oil prices slipped in early trade as investors awaited the results of the US midterm elections and their potential impact on peace talks in the Middle East, even after industry data showed US crude stocks unexpectedly fell last week. O/R
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 1.86%, while its palm oil contract shed 3.17%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.27%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
The ringgit , palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.15% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Malaysia's palm oil inventories are set to hit a new peak in October, as a rebound in exports failed to offset another month of record production, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday.
Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, a company established by the Indonesian government to supervise commodity exports, will start collecting fees for export verification when its monitoring portal goes into full operation on January 1, its chief executive said.
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority plans to issue two new regulations by the end of November for a new commodity exchange set to be launched in January next year, a senior official said.
Palm oil may fall to 4,440 ringgit per metric ton, as suggested by a projection analysis and a channel technique, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
MARKET NEWS
US stock futures slumped, Treasuries rallied and the dollar softened on Wednesday as Democrats notched early Senate wins, fuelling bets they could wrest control of the chamber from President Donald Trump's Republicans, though the final outcome remained uncertain. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS
0850 France S&P Services, Composite PMI Oct
0855 Germany S&P Services PMI Oct
0855 Germany S&P Composite Final PMI Oct
0900 EU S&P Services, Composite Final PMI Oct
0930 UK S&P Global PMI: Composite - Output
0930 UK Reserve Assets Total Oct
1000 EU HICP Flash YY Oct
1000 EU HICP-X,F,E,A&T Flash YY, MM Oct
1330 US International Trade $ Sep
1445 US S&P Global Comp, Svcs PMI Final Oct
1500 US ISM N-Mfg PMI Oct
($1 = 4.0750 ringgit)