JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday, tracking weakness in crude and other vegetable oil prices amid fears surging Omicron cases globally would hurt demand.
The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.41% to 4,390 ringgit ($1,038.81) in early trade.
It had plunged 8.2% last week in its worst performance since June, weighed down by disappointing export data for the first half of the month.
Palm posts slim gain for the day, worst weekly loss since June
Fundamentals
Dalian's soyoil contract fell 0.72% while its palm oil contract lost 1.66%. Soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade for May delivery fell 0.74%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Oil prices slumped by about 2% as surging cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States stoked investor worries that new restrictions on businesses to combat its spread may hit fuel demand.
Weaker crude oil futures typically make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
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