20120830 1424 Crude Palm Oil Related News.

VEGOILS-Palm oil edges up, Bernanke speech eyed
By Chew Yee Kiat
SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures inched up on Thursday, recovering from a near 2-week low although traders remained cautious ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday. Investors are looking to the speech for any hint on further U.S. stimulus that could boost sentiment and support demand for risky assets such as palm oil, which has lost around 5 percent so far this year. The edible oil has posted two straight weeks of gains as the worst drought in over half a century damaged soybean crops in the U.S. Midwest, hurting soybean oil supply and shifting more vegetable oil demand to the cheaper palm oil. "The rise in palm oil for the past week or two was mainly on borrowed strength from soy, and if soy seems to be running out of steam, palm is going to follow," said a trader with a foreign commodity brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
By the midday break, the benchmark November 2012 contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 0.2 percent to 3,006 ringgit ($961) per tonne. Prices hit 2,978 ringgit on Wednesday, the lowest level since Aug. 17. Total traded volume stood at 20,149 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 12,500 lots. Palm oil may end its current rebound from 2,978 ringgit in a resistance zone of 3,050-3,067 ringgit and drop back to 2,978 ringgit, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao. On top of bearish technicals, traders are also taking into account prospects of higher palm oil stock levels in August that could weigh on futures prices. But the market will be looking out for export numbers for the full month as resilient demand could help ease stock growth. Exports rose as much as 6.6 percent for the first 25 days of August from a month earlier on higher demand from major food buyers India and China, cargo surveyor data showed. PALM/ITSPALM/SGS
Brent crude fell towards $112 a barrel on Thursday after oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico were largely spared storm damage, but maintenance at North Sea fields and a possible strike in Norway's oil sector curbed losses. In other vegetable oil markets, the most active U.S. soyoil contract for December delivery BOZ2 slipped 0.4 percent by 0517 GMT. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract DBYF3 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange gained 0.7 percent by the midday break.

Monthly palm oil exports from Indonesia up 20 pct m/m in July - RTRS
JAKARTA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Palm oil exports from Indonesia, the world's top producer, rose 20 percent to 1.5 million tonnes in July compared to the previous month, industry data showed on Thursday. This year, palm oil output will be between 23 million and 25 million tonnes, with around 18 million tonnes exported. Indonesia's top customers for the edible oil include India, China and Europe. In January-July, exports to India totalled 3.08 million tonnes, with China shipping 1.75 million tonnes and the European Union 2.25.

Indonesia to stop palm firms from using subsidised fuel
Will ban palm firms from using subsidised fuel from Sept. 1 Regulation issued without industry feedback. JAKARTA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia will ban palm oil plantation firms from using subsidised fuel from next month, an official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) said on Thursday, in a move aimed at reducing the strain on the country's budget. Costly fuel subsidies have made Indonesia's pump prices the cheapest in Asia -- at about half the market rate. The country spent about $18 billion on fuel subsidies last year and this is expected to rise to about $20 billion in 2013. Since leaving prices at their current level threatens to increase the budget deficit and reduce the amount of money available for much-needed infrastructure spending, the government is now trying to reduce use of the subsidised fuel. It has already stopped government vehicles from using it.
"Starting on Sept. 1, plantations cannot use subsidised fuel," Fadhil Hasan, executive director at GAPKI told Reuters, adding the government regulation was issued before the association had time to give feedback. Firms that may be hurt by the government's fuel move include Wilmar International WLIL.SI, PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology SMAR.JK and PT Astra Agro Lestari. "As logistic costs represent 14 percent of total production expense, the ban will adversely impact plantation companies if they do not increase their selling prices," Jakarta-based brokerage Bahana Securities said in a report on Thursday. Benchmark November palm oil futures FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange were trading at around 3,000 ringgit ($960) per tonne on Thursday, down 5 percent so far this year. Palm oil output from Indonesia, the world's top producer, is expected this year to be between 23 million and 25 million tonnes, compared with 22.5 million in 2011.
India, China and Europe are the main buyers of Indonesian palm oil, with exports totalling 8.6 million tonnes during the first six months of this year. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party has been trying to tackle the issue of costly subsidies in Indonesia -- Southeast Asia's largest economy -- though the parliament earlier this year stymied its plans to lift the price of subsidised fuel.