Vegoils commentary: CPO rises on pre-weekend positioning, soyoil down on crude losses and US export numbers

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures ended the week in positive territory following some late pre-weekend positioning after trading lower through most of the day.
The most active third month CPO futures for May-delivery on Bursa Malaysia closed 0.31% higher to MYR3,851/mt ($806/mt), with the contract also gaining 1.1% on a weekly basis.
CPO futures had started off lower tracking overnight weakness in rival CME soyoil futures with the May contract ending 17 points lower at the midday close and as market participants await fresh production indications for February. 
Chinese vegoils were lower to unchanged on Friday, with the most active palm oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange slipping 0.87% to CNY7,294/mt while the equivalent soybean oil contract moved down 0.22% to CNY7,262/mt.
The most active rapeseed oil contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange closed just 1 point higher to CNY7,739/mt.
Meanwhile, production estimates from private brokerage UOB Kay Hian pegged output for February 1-20 at 5-9% lower from the same period in January, a moderate improvement from the 11-15% month-on-month drop estimated for January 1-20.   
Estimates from the Malaysian Palm Oil Association for February 1-20 production due in the next few days will further guide trade direction. 
In the physical market, small volumes of CPO were traded to India at $922.50/mt east coast India (ECI) for March shipment, and for April at $903/mt CNF ECI and $910/mt CNF west coast India.  
In the Americas, soyoil futures fell Friday on lower crude prices and export sales reductions in the US.
The most liquid CME May contract dropped 0.9% on the day, trading at 44.39 c/lb at the time of publication, extending the previous session losses and below the levels seen at the beginning of the week.
The market borrowed weakness from falling crude prices, with WTI and Brent contracts down more than 2% on the day.
USDA reported soyoil net sales reductions of 5,300 mt for 2023/2024, unchanged from the previous week and below the lower bound of analyst expectations, which ranged from net reductions of 5,000 mt to net sales of 10,000 mt.
CME soymeal futures also moved lower for the third consecutive session, with May contracts down 0.9% to $328.5/st.
Weaker US export sales figures, beneficial South American weather and lower soybean futures contributed to soymeal losses.
US soybean meal and cake net export sales totaled 202,000 mt, down 1% on the week and 35% from the previous four-week average, on the lower bound of analysts’ expectations that ranged from 150,000 to 400,000 mt.
On the news front, Egypt’s state grain and vegoil buyer booked 60,250 mt of sunflower oil at $920/mt CFR Egypt from three overseas companies with delivery in March-April in a tender Thursday, also passing on soybean oil purchases due to high prices, market sources said.
EU oilseed crushing volumes increased slightly by 1.27% in January to 3.5 million mt from the previous month, mainly due to sunflower, and are now at their highest level in the last 10 years, while soybean crushing decreased, data from the EU vegetable oils and protein flour association Fediol showed on Friday.
In the physical market, soyoil indications in Argentina moved higher on the day, with the April basis assessed at an 8.1 c/lb discount to May CME futures, up 0.4 c/lb compared with the previous assessment.
Brazilian premiums also rose, with the April basis up 0.5 c/lb on the day to a 7.1 c/lb discount over underlying futures.
Brazilian soymeal basis for April delivery held stable, assessed at a  $7/st premium to May contracts, while the same premium in Argentina fell $1/s on the day, to $3/st over the same futures contract.
The sunflower oil market FOB six European ports lacked liquidity during the day, with limited buyers, who in the first half of the day price ideas $10/mt lower than Thursday at $900/mt FOB for shipment in April/May/June, and who were not active in the afternoon.
Sellers’ ideas for April/May/June loading were heard during the day at $915-920/mt FOB.
Rapeseed oil FOB Dutch Mill/Rotterdam strengthened on the sell side by €14/mt on the day to €884/mt against buyers’ ideas €5/mt higher at €855/mt FOB Rotterdam for shipment in February/March/April.
The sunflower oil market in the Black Sea region looked firmer on Friday, with lowest offer prices increasing by $5-10/mt compared to the day before to $840-845/mt CIF Mersin, while buyers’ ideas were shown in the range of $830-835/mt CIF Mersin, which is at least $5/mt higher than the day before.
The number of spot buyers at ports was minimal, while their prices were inflated to attract the missing volumes and were shown at the levels of $755/mt CPT Izmail, $745/mt Pivdennyi, while other buyers were still waiting for prices to stabilize and did not force purchases.