Cofeed News: till May 4th this week, edible palm oil at China’s ports totals 698,800 tonnes, decreasing by 0.8% from 7,047,000 tonnes last week, yet vis-a-vis the same week of last year, it is still 2% higher than 684,900 tonnes a year earlier. Stocks of industrial palm oil otherwise come into at 73,800 tonnes, a rise of 8.5% or 5,800 tonnes from 68,000 tonnes on the week.

   

   Till Friday, price gap between soybean oil and palm oil domestically is narrowed at 653 yuan/tonne amid a slight decline of palm oil stockpiles, and seemingly, performance of oil futures at home and abroad goes weaker and weaker factored in buyers’ weakened involvement in market. Total traded volumes of palm oil this week are merely around 6,200 tonnes, below 8,400 tonnes last week. According to Cofeed, shipments of palm oil in May and June are under way attributed to import margins, to be specific, around 0.30-0.33 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil are expected in May, higher than April’s imports. By and large, stockpiles later will largely trend up in late May.

                          Figure: Comparison of domestic palm oil stocks in recent years

    Imports of palm oil are estimated to be around 0.38 Mln tonnes for April delivery (0.25 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil, 0.13 Mln tonnes of industrial palm oil), unchanged from last estimates; around 0.43 Mln tonnes for May delivery (0.30-0.33 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil, 0.10-0.13 Mln tonnes of industrial palm oil), unchanged from estimates last week; approximately 0.40 Mln tonnes for June delivery (0.27 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil, 0.13 Mln tonnes of industrial palm oil). Arrivals of palm oil may change with the market and shipping schedule, therefore information will be updated according to latest shipments and possible defaults.