Indian refiners cancel palm oil orders

MUMBAI, June 18 (Reuters): Indian refiners cancelled orders for 65,000 metric tons of crude palm oil (CPO) scheduled for delivery from July to September following a sudden surge in benchmark Malaysian prices, four trade sources told Reuters.

Refiners in the world's largest palm oil importer cancelled the orders in the past three days after Malaysian palm oil futures rose more than 6 per cent, hedging their risk against the prospect of falling prices by locking in a profit.

"There is a lot of volatility in the market. There was more margin in cancelling bought CPO than in importing, refining, and selling refined palm oil in the local market," said an Indian buyer who operates a refinery on the west coast and cancelled shipments for July delivery.