Palm oil set for first weekly drop in three

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were set for a weekly drop on Friday as the benchmark contract fell for a third straight session on weakness in rival soyoil, despite cargo surveyor data showing strong exports in the first 10 days of September.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 13 ringgit, or 0.46%, to 2,801 ringgit ($674.45) by 0235 GMT.

Palm has declined 1.2% so far this week, heading for its first weekly drop in three.

FUNDAMENTALS
Malaysia's palm oil exports for Sept. 1-10 rose between 10% and 25.6% from the month before, cargo surveyors said on Thursday.

Malaysia's palm oil stocks at the end of August rose marginally, but were lower than expected as imports slumped and domestic consumption picked up, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed on Thursday.

August end-stocks rose 0.06% from the previous month to 1.7 million tonnes, marking the first monthly gain since April, while production climbed 3.07%.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.85%, while its palm oil contract slipped 0.85%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.09%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil may fall to 2,758 ringgit per tonne, as it has broken the support at 2,794 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

MARKET NEWS
Asian markets were expected to fall in response to declines in technology stocks that began last week and growing concerns about another round of negotiations on the UK's departure from the European Union.