Market Updates

April 17 - Malaysian palm oil futures inched up on Tuesday on tightening global oilseed supply, although gains were limited as weaker exports and soaring
Spanish borrowing costs weighed on sentiment.
Malaysian palm oil stocks dropped below the 2-million-tonne mark for the first time this year, reinforcing views of a tight global supply amid a lower soy crop in drought-hit South America.
But concerns of a slowing commodity demand also surfaced with Spain's surging borrowing costs stoking investor nervousness over euro zone debt woes.
"Negative macroeconomic factors coupled with weaker export numbers may force traders to take profits. But fundamentally supply for crude palm oil and other vegetable oil is still very tight, so that should be supportive throughout the second quarter," said Alan Lim, research analyst with Kenanga Investment Bank in Malaysia.
By the midday break, benchmark July palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained a slight 0.1 percent at 3,491 ringgit ($1,138) per tonne.
Traded volumes stood at 11,190 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly lower than the usual 12,500 lots.
According to technical charts, a bearish target of 3,401 ringgit per tonne will only be confirmed if palm oil drops below 3,454 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.