Kuala Lumpur, Oct 6 - Most Asian vegetable oil markets, long suffering from oversupply, slumped by their limits down on Tuesday as growing signs of a slowing global economy spurred investors to sell, and export demand to falter.
Dalian soyoil futures fell by their maximum trading limit, which was the same for some Malaysian palm oil contracts. Chicago soyoil was also caught in the sell-off during Asian trading hours.
Spooked by the prospect of a spreading financial crisis, investors have been fleeing commodity plays, with the Reuters/Jefferies CRB index losing more than 10 percent, its biggest-ever weekly drop, and oil racking up its steepest seven-day fall in four years.
"Initially the macro effects from the credit crisis took their toll on palm and soyoil but now the fundamentals are worsening the situation," said a Singaporean trader with a leading commodity brokerage.
"The fear is there will be another round of defaults or deferments from price-sensitive India and China."
The two big consumers have already slowed shipments twice before, following steep sell-offs in vegetable oil markets. In total, about 1 million tonnes of palm oil cargoes have been either defaulted on or deferred in the past two months, traders say.
Palm oil, now trading at more than 22-month lows, has been previously battered by default news, igniting fears that exports would slow and stocks balloon in Malaysia and Indonesia, the top producers.
The tropical oil has plummeted 40 percent so far this year, outpacing an 18 percent drop in U.S. and Dalian soybean oil markets.
The benchmark December palm contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange tumbled as much as 208 ringgit to 1,792 ringgit ($514), a level unseen since Nov. 20, 2006. January 2009 Dalian soyoil fell 412 yuan to 7,832 yuan ($1,143) a tonne.
Traders say a recovery may not be in sight as high production cycles in Malaysia and Indonesia were still underway while top consumers China and India faced better domestic crops amid a slowdown in demand.
"Defaults are definitely going to happen and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for much weaker exports for the first 10 days of exports," said S. Paramalingam, executive director of local broker Pelindung Bestari in Malaysian capital.
Exports data for Oct. 1-10, due on Friday, will see at least another 10 percent decline from about 395,000 tonnes seen in the first 10 days in September, traders say.
PLANTERS BATTERED, CASH TRADES SLOW
Sliding palm oil prices have also hit Southeast Asia's plantation industry, a key source of export revenue for governments, and cut into share prices of key players.
Malaysia's IOI Corp dropped nearly 2 percent while Astra Agro Lestari Tbk, Indonesia's largest listed planter, slumped 16.2 percent. The world's biggest palm producer, Wilmar International, tumbled 7.1 percent.
"The steep pullback in crude oil prices has dampened the recovery effort of crude palm oil futures, therefore, investors may want to avoid plantation stocks due to the bearish outlook on crude palm oil futures," research house Aseambankers said in a note.
Asian physical trades nearly ground to a halt as volatility in the futures markets kept buyers on the sidelines.
"There is no point in trading. We need to wait until the dust and defaults settle," said a leading Malaysian trader.
In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for October and November shipments in the southern and central regions was quoted at 1,880/1,900 ringgit. No trades were reported. ($1=3.4840 ringgit, 6.8539 yuan)