20121017 1447 Palm Oil Related News.

VEGOILS-Palm oil slips on higher stocks, demand in focus
Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:35am EDT
* Palm oil in rangebound trade
    * Widening discount to soyoil could shift demand to
palm-traders

    By Anuradha Raghu
    KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures
slipped on Wednesday after analysts expected the market to fall
further on high stocks although traders were betting on the
edible oil's big discount to competing soyoil to spur demand.
    Palm oil futures have lost 22 percent this year, prompting
one analyst at an industry seminar the previous day to forecast
prices falling to 2,200 ringgit in the next four to six weeks on
a record build-up in Malaysian stocks.
    Exports in the first half of October have climbed as much as
16.3 percent from a month ago, signalling strong buying interest
from the likes of the European Union and Pakistan, data from a
cargo surveyor showed.
    "The market is digesting all the news and views spoken
yesterday, it will remain rangebound until more is known about
demand," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in
Malaysia.
    By the midday break, the benchmark January contract
on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slipped 0.2 percent
to 2,461 ringgit ($808) per tonne.
    Total traded volumes stood at 16,373 lots of 25 tonnes each,
slightly higher than the usual 12,500 lots.
    Technical analysis showed that palm oil remained neutral,
trapped in a range of 2,361-2,528 ringgit per tonne, said
Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
    Another trader with a foreign commodities brokerage said the
upcoming U.S. presidential elections have made global investors
more cautious.
    On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican rival
Mitt Romney clashed repeatedly on jobs and energy.
    While market reaction in Asia has been muted, U.S. investors
are likely to focus on the outcome as it gives an idea on the
kind of economic and financial policies that may come into the
play after the polls.
    "The U.S markets are quiet because of the presidential
election next month, so people are watching carefully. That's
why the (palm oil) market can't move," the Malaysian trader
said.
    Palm oil takes its cues mostly from U.S. soyoil and Brent
crude, as it competes with the edible oil for food demand and
the crude oil grade for use in the energy sector.
    Brent futures held steady near $114 on Tuesday as
expectations that Europe's financial crisis is on the mend
renewed hopes of a revival in oil demand growth, while simmering
tension in the Middle East provided additional support.
    U.S. soyoil for December delivery inched up 0.2
percent in early Asian trade after declining in the previous
session on expectations of higher soybean supplies in the
Americas.
   The most active January 2013 soybean oil contract on
the Dalian Commodity Exchange was almost flat.