20121213 1633 Palm Oil Related News.

India Nov refined palm oil imports up 24.3 pct m/m-trade - RTRS
13-Dec-2012 14:13
NEW DELHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - India imported 76,519 tonnes of refined palm oil in November, a leading trade body said on Thursday, up from 61,544 tonnes in October and slightly higher than the average in a Reuters poll.
Total vegetable oil imports in November were 700,371 tonnes, down from 1,036,107 tonnes in the previous month, the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said in a statement.
India is the world's top vegetable oil importer and its palm oil imports hit their highest level in at least three years in October as buyers took advantage of languishing stocks, especially in Malaysia, the world's No. 2 producer.
A Reuters survey had forecast average vegetable oil imports of 770,375 tonnes in November, with 72,500 tonnes of refined palm oil. (Full Story)
India's vegetable oil year runs from November to October.
India buys mainly palm oils from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a small quantity of soyoil from Brazil and Argentina.


VEGOILS-Palm oil edges down, on track for 3rd straight loss
Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:38pm EST
* Investors cautious on record stocks and U.S. fiscal woes
    * Prices traded in tight range of 2,230 to 2,246 ringgit
    * Traders looking out for Malaysia's new crude palm oil tax
for Jan

 (Updates prices, adds detail)
    By Chew Yee Kiat
    SINGAPORE, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures
inched lower on Thursday, on track for a third straight loss, as
record stocks and concerns over U.S. fiscal woes dragging on
global growth spooked investors.
    Despite announcements of more monetary stimulus by the U.S.
Federal Reserve, traders remained cautious as sharp differences
on the 2013 budget persisted between Congressional Republicans
and the White House and negotiators warned the showdown could
drag on past Christmas.
    Record high palm oil stocks in Malaysia, the world's No.2
producer, also kept palm oil futures trading near their
one-month lows.
    "The market looks exhausted at current levels, and some
correction is anticipated. But any bounce will be limited with
supply seen at record levels," said a trader with a local
commodities brokerage in Malaysia.      
    By the midday break, the benchmark February contract
 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had lost 0.4
percent to 2,232 ringgit ($730) per tonne, trading just above
Wednesday's low of 2,229 ringgit, a level unseen since Nov. 12.
    Total traded volumes stood at 11,219 lots of 25 tonnes each,
slightly lower than the usual 12,500 lots.
    Traders will be counting on Malaysian exporters to use up
their tax-free export quota before it expires by the end of the
year and stronger Chinese demand to bolster export figures for
the first half of December.
    They will also be looking for India's palm oil import
figures, expected be lower in November as cold weather that
solidifies the oil capped demand, a Reuters survey showed.
 
    Malaysia's new crude palm oil export tax for January is also
in focus as analysts said the tax, likely to be set at zero,
could boost exports of the crude grade and ease record high
stock levels.  
    In a bearish sign for palm oil, Brent crude slipped toward
$109 a barrel on Thursday, on rising oil stockpiles and weaker
fuel demand in the United States, while fears that the world's
largest economy might miss a deadline for next year's budget
kept bulls in check.
    In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for January
delivery was almost flat in early Asian trade. The most
active May 2013 soybean oil contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange fell 0.5 percent by the midday break.