Palm oil falls more than 4pc

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses, falling 4.4% to a three-week low, as it tracked weakness in rival oils in the United States and China. The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 168 ringgit lower, or 4.4%, to 3,695 ringgit ($891.54) a tonne.

It touched the lowest price since March 3 when it closed at 3,678 ringgit. CBOT soybean futures closed lower on profit-taking after a four-session advance, spillover weakness from crude oil, and sluggish US export sales. The soybean oil contract last fell 0.3%.

Weighing on prices further were cheaper Chinese rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 5.5%, while its palm oil contract fell 6.2%.