KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were set on Friday for their worst week in two months as prices fell for a second straight day, weighed down by talks top buyers China and India might strengthen regulation on speculative activities.
The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 71 ringgit, or 1.43%, to 4,897 ringgit ($1,178.30) a tonne by the midday break, also tracking a plunge in rival oils.
The contract has declined 1.3% so far in the week, heading for a second straight weekly drop and its biggest since the week ended Aug. 20.
The market is concerned that regulators in India and China could increase scrutiny on speculative trading to tame record high prices, after China signalled it might intervene to cool surging prices of coal futures.
The correction was also triggered by demand for palm and its relative value to soft oils, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager and broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.
"Yet, as import and processing margins have improved, there is still a concern on supply levels in Malaysia and Indonesia as production peaked in August," he said.
Palm oil gains on concerns over dwindling Sept stockpile
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 4.3%, while its palm oil contract dropped 4.8%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.6%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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