Palm slips on rival oils, but still eyes best monthly gain in 4 years

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday, after rising for three straight sessions, tracking weaker rival oils, but the contract remained on track for its biggest monthly gain in four years.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 33 ringgit, or 0.69%, to 4,739 ringgit ($1,173.89) a metric ton by the midday break.

The contract has risen 18.75% so far in March and is on track for its highest monthly gain since April 2022.

Crude palm oil prices retraced, mirroring a pullback in rival oilseeds during Asian trading hours, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.02%, while its palm oil contract added 0.84%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.38%.

Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices reversed course in Asian trading, paring earlier gains, following a report that US President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.27% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

On Monday, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto during an official visit to Japan said that the Southeast Asian country will go ahead this year with its B50 palm oil-based biodiesel programme.