20121123 1427 Palm Oil Related News.

VEGOILS-Palm oil edges down as demand slows, set for weekly loss
Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:33am EST
* Futures set for 1.7 pct weekly decline
    * Sentiment cautious ahead of meeting to discuss Greece
bailout deal
    * Palm oil still targets 2,321 ringgit -technicals

 (Updates prices, adds detail)
    By Chew Yee Kiat
    SINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures
fell for a fourth straight session on Friday and were on track
for a third weekly loss in four, as investors remained concerned
over slowing demand for the edible oil as prospects for global
economic growth remained dim.
    Investors were also cautious ahead of a European meeting on
Monday, when international lenders would gather for a second
time to reach a deal to release emergency aid for Greece.
   
    Malaysia, the world's second largest palm oil producer,
exported less of the edible oil for the first 20 days of the
month compared to October, fuelling concerns over its inventory
that has hovered near record high levels.
    "The market is still worried about exports, which slowed
down due to the slew of holidays last week," said a trader with
a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
    "The question everybody is asking now is whether end stocks
will be lower or slightly higher. I think it should be going
down with lower production."
    By the midday break, the benchmark February contract
 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had lost 1
percent to 2,387 ringgit ($780) per tonne.
    Total traded volumes stood at 15,280 lots of 25 tonnes each,
higher than the usual 12,500 lots.
    Technicals showed a bearish target at 2,321 ringgit remains
intact for palm oil based on a Fibonacci retracement analysis,
said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
    For the week, futures were set to post a 1.7 percent decline
on worries that the U.S. budget crisis, and the euro zone's
ongoing financial woes, could weigh on demand.
    Malaysian shipments of the tropical oil fell 3.3 percent and
3.8 percent for the Nov. 1-20 period from a month ago, cargo
surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de
Surveillance said respectively.
    Traders are hoping the annual price outlook conference,
organised by the Indonesia Palm Oil Association on next Thursday
and Friday, would provide more clues about palm oil's outlook.
    In related markets, Brent crude slipped towards $110 a
barrel as weak data from Europe raised concerns about global
demand and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip eased supply concerns,
overshadowing positive manufacturing data out of China.
    In other vegetable oil markets, the most active May 2013
soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange
edged down 0.4 percent by the midday break. The U.S. financial
markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.