Malaysian palm oil futures hovered above MYR 3,970 per tonne after falling as low as MYR 3,940 in the prior session, supported by firmer crude oil prices and hopes of solid demand ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid-al Fitr festival. In the meantime, output in February is expected to fall further in the face of a larger drop in exports. Shipments of Malaysian palm oil products for February sank 14.0% mom to 1,106,054 metric tons, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. According to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri, they plunged 18.5% to 1,000,348 tonnes. Capping the rise was soybean oil’s weakness on the Chicago Board of Trade and a stronger ringgit. In key buyer China, trade data for the January-February combined will be due over the next few days, with worries building that the Spring Festival holiday in February will distort export and import figures. Market participants now are awaiting cues from a major industry conference this week.
