DMAWorks: 2015

#HowtotradeFCPO

Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday as weak export demand showed little signs of improving.

The February benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 1.2% at the midday break, reaching 2,375 ringgit (US$549.51) a tonne. It has fallen 2.7% from a two-month high of 2,442 ringgit hit on Friday.

Traded volume stood at 19,572 lots of 25 tonnes each.

"At present, production is really bad but due to poor exports, the market may not go up much," said a trader based in Kuala Lumpur, who added that exports will be the key determinant for market gains.

"The moment it shows signs of improvement, the market may improve."

Output from Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, dropped 18% in November from a month ago. Inventories, however, remained at a record high as exports weakened by 12% to 1.5 million tonnes, based on government data last Thursday.

Shipment data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services showed a 36% slowdown in exports during Dec 1–15 compared with the same period a month ago.