Malaysian palm oil ends lower as weaker exports weigh

NEW DELHI: Malaysian palm oil futures declined on Tuesday, weighed down by a drop in exports of oil products in May.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 58 ringgit or 1.48%, at 3,863 ringgit ($822.26) a metric ton.

Weaker exports of palm oil in May dragged down prices, and expectations of a sharp rise in production also weighed on prices, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head at Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage.

According to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May 1-15 fell 5.2% from the same period in April to 600,777 metric tons.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) estimates exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May 1-15 at 426,947 metric tons, according to LSEG data.

Malaysia has maintained its June export tax for crude palm oil at 8% and lowered its reference price to 3,956.06 ringgit per ton for June, compared with May’s 4,273.93 ringgit, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s website showed.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 1.3%. Soybean harvesting in flood-hit Rio Grande do Sul state reached 85% of the area, up from 78% last week, according to crop agency Emater.