Palm oil rallies to one-month high

Palm oil climbed for a third day to a one-month high on improved demand
prospects ahead of Ramadan, with data from a surveyor showing that
shipments from Malaysia dropped at a slower pace.

The contract
for August delivery advanced as much as 0.7 per cent to RM2,352 a
metric tonne on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the highest level since
April 12, and was at RM2,343 at the market's 12.30pm break in Kuala
Lumpur. Today's rise extended two weeks of gains.

Export demand
from the Middle East and South Asia usually climbs before the Muslim
fasting month, when communal meals boost total consumption. While
shipments from the second-largest producer fell 9.4 per cent to 799,405
tonnes in first 20 days of May from a month ago, according to Intertek,
that's less than the 17 per cent drop over 10 days. Ramadan starts in
July.

"There is lot of expectation that demand may improve
because of Ramadan," Ivy Ng, an analyst at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd,
said by phone from Kuala Lumpur. "The decline in exports from Malaysia
has narrowed from early part of the month, and this is because of a
pickup in demand."

Refined palm oil for September delivery fell
0.3 per cent to 6,060 yuan (US$987) a tonne on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange, while soybean oil was little changed at 7,490 yuan. On the
Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans for July delivery rose 0.2 per cent to
US$14.52 a bushel and soybean oil for the same month advanced 0.3 per
cent to 49.66 cents a pound.-- Bloomberg