JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures closed up on Monday mirroring gains in rival oils and bullishness from the Malaysian palm oil export estimates for March.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange increased 72 ringgit, or 1.72%, to 4,266 ringgit ($902.48) a metric ton on the closing.
“The CPO futures were seen trading higher supported by a rally of Palm olein and Soyoil at Dalian Commodity Exchange, Rapeseed oil at Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, along with bullish momentum in Soyoil at the Chicago Board of Trade,” Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oils broker Sunvin Group said.
The additional bullishness also came from the Malaysian palm oil export estimates for March, he added. The soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange gained 1.58%, while its palm oil contract increased 2.89%.
Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1.29%. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Amspec Agri said exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March are seen at 1,292,130 metric tons. According to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS), it rose 20.5% to 1,333,138 metric tons from 1,106,054 metric tons shipped during February.
Oil prices added to recent gains on Monday amid expectations of tighter supply from OPEC+ cuts and attacks on Russian refineries while upbeat Chinese manufacturing data supported the outlook for improving demand.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The Malaysian ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, fell slightly against the dollar.
A weaker ringgit makes palm oil more attractive for foreign currency holders. Palm oil may break resistance at 4,242 ringgit per metric ton and rise further, as the correction from the March 15 high of 4,327 ringgit seems to have been completed, according to Reuters’ technical analyst Wang Tao.
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