Palm oil eases, but set to log fourth straight weekly rise

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Friday, tracking weaker rival soyoil, but the contract was set to rise a fourth consecutive week on a tight supply outlook ahead of industry data.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 25 ringgit, or 0.65%, to 3,792 ringgit ($938.61) a tonne during the midday break, falling for a second straight session.

The contract has gained 5.3% so far this week.

Lack of fresh news, cautious trading and additional weekend profit-taking ahead of data from Malaysian Palm Oil Board, USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and cargo surveyors kept the market directionless during the first trading session, said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics.

"Jan. 1-10 export is seen lower and this could also pressure prices in the second half," he added.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board is scheduled to release December supply and demand data on Monday.

A Reuters survey pegged December end-stocks to tumble to their lowest in more than 13 years at 1.22 million tonnes. Production was seen falling 11% from the month before, while export likely rose 15%.

Malaysia will delay the nationwide rollout of its B20 palm oil biodiesel mandate to early 2022, state news agency Bernama reported, following in Indonesia's footsteps to delay its B40 mandate.

Palm oil prices are likely to remain high in the first quarter but "fall dramatically" during the second half of the year as palm and oilseed plantings pick up, two leading industry analysts on Thursday.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract gained 0.2%, while its palm oil contract slipped 0.2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.1%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.