KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures recovered from earlier losses to end flat on Tuesday, helped by a stronger performance in oilseed soy and lower than expected inventory forecasts.
The market fell earlier on a firmer ringgit. The Malaysian currency hit its strongest level in nearly seven months, but retreated to last trade down 0.1 percent at 4.2650 per dollar.
Gains in the ringgit, the currency of trade for palm oil, make the tropical oil less attractive for holders of foreign currencies.
The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed flat at 2,499 ringgit ($585.93) a tonne. Traded volumes stood at 43,563 lots of 25 tonnes each on Tuesday evening.
"Stock levels didn't pick up as much as we expected, and soyoil looks supportive now," said a futures trader from Kuala Lumpur, referring to two separate inventory forecasts.
Palm oil prices generally track the movements of soyoil as both of them compete for a share in the global edible oils market.
Soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.4 percent, while the September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange gained 0.8 percent.
In other related oils, the September contract for palm olein was down 0.6 percent.
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