Palm muted as strong crude offsets weaker Dalian palm olein

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were little changed on Tuesday, as weakness in Dalian palm olein offset stronger crude oil prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange added 3 ringgit, or a marginal 0.07%, to close at 4,537 ringgit ($1,148.90) a metric ton. The contract fell 1.37% on Monday.

Palm futures were weighed down by softer Dalian palm olein during Asian trading hours, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

“The benchmark July contract broke below the key psychological level of 4,500 ringgit, triggering fresh selling pressure and testing an intraday low of 4,482 ringgit,” the trader added.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.14%, while its palm oil contract shed 0.59%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade firmed 0.17%.

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

Oil prices rose nearly 3%, extending last session’s gains, as efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war appeared to have stalled, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway still mainly shut, starving markets of key Middle East energy supply.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.03% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Indonesia’s state palm oil company Agrinas Palma Nusantara is expecting its crude palm oil output in 2026 to reach around 2 million tons, said director Seger Budiarjo, nearly double its previous estimate of 1.07 million tons.

Cargo surveyors estimate exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-25 to have fallen between 15.7% and 16.8% month-on-month.