内容摘要：* Palm gains as much as 2.4 pct in Wednesday's trade* Lower production also supportive of prices - t starcraft 2007 pop-up camper

* Palm gains as much as 2.4 pct in Wednesday's trade

* Lower production also supportive of prices - trader

* India cuts import taxes on crude,starcraft 2007 pop-up camper refined palm oil

(Updates with closing prices)

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures

rose to their highest in nearly two weeks on the first trading

day of 2019, after world's largest edible oil importer India

announced import tax cuts, amid expectations of a fall in

production.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery

on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 2.1 percent at

2,166 ringgit ($523.82) a tonne at the close of trade, its

strongest daily gains in two and a half weeks.

It earlier rose as much as 2.4 percent to 2,171 ringgit, its

strongest levels since Dec. 21.

Trading volumes stood at 32,672 lots of 25 tonnes each at

the end of the trading day. (1FCPO-TOT)

"Palm is higher today on India's import tax cut and

production, which is expected to be down for the whole month

also," said a futures trader in Singapore.

Palm oil output in Malaysia, the second largest producer of

the vegetable oil, seasonally declines in the first few months

of the year after peaking in the previous quarter.

November production had slid 6.09 percent from the previous

month to 1.85 million tonnes, according to industry regulator

data. (MYPOMP-CPOTT)

India, the world's largest importer of edible oils, said

late on Monday it would lower the duty on crude palm oil imports

to 40 percent from 44 percent, while a tax on refined oils was

cut to 50 percent from 54 percent.

Malaysian shipments of refined palm oil, however, will be

taxed at 45 percent compared with 54 percent earlier.

Despite the tax cuts, traders expect market gains to be

short-lived as palm inventory levels in Southeast Asia remain

high.

In other related oils, the January soybean oil contract on

the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 1 percent and the

Dalian January palm oil contract gained 2.3 percent.

Palm oil prices are impacted by changes in soyoil prices, as

they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1052 GMT:

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL JAN9 2075 +71.00 2030 2075 84

MY PALM OIL FEB9 2129 +55.00 2090 2134 3117

MY PALM OIL MAR9 2164 +43.00 2132 2171 13419

CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN9 4150 +94.00 3868 4150 3132

CHINA SOYOIL JAN9 4942 +48.00 4846 4942 1366

CBOT SOY OIL JAN9 27.55 +0.00 0 0 0

INDIA PALM OIL JAN9 521.50 +7.50 516.40 523.5 1512

INDIA SOYOIL JAN9 736 +5.85 731.5 738 8800

NYMEX CRUDE FEB9 44.96 -0.45 44.41 46.00 166325

Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne

CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound

Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne

India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg

Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 4.1350 ringgit)

($1 = 70.1100 Indian rupees)

($1 = 6.8552 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

View comments