Commodities Roundup:
Business Times
Wednesday - August 06, 2008
CPO FUTURES
CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures traded on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives plunged to a fresh nine-month low yesterday following the weakening of both soyoil futures overnight and crude oil prices.
The benchmark third-month October 2008 contract dropped RM140 to close at RM2,750 per tonne from RM2,890 per tonne at Monday’s closing.
The global oil price saw the US Light crude went down US$3.69 to settle at US$121.41 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping as low as US$119.50, the lowest level since early May.
US soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight dropped to a three-month low with the August delivery contract closing 2.51 cents lower to 54.10 cents per pound. According to a dealer, prices of vegetable oils now seem to be under pressure as the potential decline in global crude prices may lead to continuous declining in CPO prices.
“As is to be expected, the wide and varied effects of the weakening in crude oil include their impact on the commodities market within and outside
“High palm oil stocks on the domestic front has also dampened yesterday’s market sentiment,” he added.
The palm oil stock level, particularly in
In a move to curb the growing stockpile, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said
“We are talking about anything in the region of 500,000 tonnes. The timing should depend on the strategy that we use and the infrastructure to absorb this amount but we plan to do it as soon as possible. Surely in the next two to three months,” a news report quoted him as saying yesterday.
