Palm slips on weaker Dalian palm olein

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, weighed down by declines in Dalian palm olein due to profit-taking.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 8 ringgit, or 0.18%, to 4,484 ringgit ($1,066.35) a metric ton by the midday break.

Crude palm oil futures extended falls amid pressure from Dalian palm olein, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.07%, while its palm oil contract shed 0.96%.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.09%. Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices edged down after surging nearly 2% in the previous session, as traders kept a close watch on developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for potential disruptions to regional fuel supplies.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. Cargo surveyors estimated that exports of Malaysian palm oil products during August 1-25 rose between 10.9% and 16.4% from a month earlier.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.19% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Indonesia urged the European Union to scrap countervailing duties on imports of biodiesel immediately, after the World Trade Organization backed several of Jakarta’s main claims in a complaint to the trade body.

Palm oil may fall to 4,421 ringgit per ton, driven by a wave c, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.