Malaysian palm oil futures lower on Dalian weakness, market awaits further leads

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses on Monday, mirroring the drop in rival soyoils on the Dalian market, while the market awaited further triggers amid the holiday season.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 72 ringgit, or 1.56%, to 4,552 ringgit ($1,019.48) per metric ton at the close.

“Today’s futures will be lacklustre, tracking Dalian while waiting for the holiday season to be over for further leads,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract dropped 0.18% while its palm oil contract lost 0.34%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade slipped 0.13%.

Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices edged down on Monday in thin holiday trade ahead of the year-end as traders awaited more Chinese and US economic data later this week to assess growth in the world’s two largest oil consumers.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, rose slightly by 0.18% against the US dollar, making the commodity marginally more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies. Cargo surveyors estimated Malaysian palm oil dropped 1.1%-4% between Dec. 1 and 25, compared with Nov. 1 and 25.