Malaysian palm oil futures fell to the lowest in a week in the second half of trade on Tuesday, pulled down by overnight losses in US soyaoil and lacklustre export data. The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.7 percent at 2,313 ringgit ($572.38) a tonne. The palm oil contract earlier hit 2,296 ringgit, its lowest in a week.
Trading volumes stood at 33,432 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon. "Soyaoil fell overnight, causing palm prices to come down but it is trying to hold on," said a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader, referring to soyaoil losses on the US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).
Palm oil prices track the performance of other edible oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Malaysia's tepid exports weighed on palm prices, the trader said. "Our production in June isn't so great so the selling pressure is not there."
Malaysia's June exports of the edible oil dropped 10.3 percent from the previous month, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said, while cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said exports plunged 11.8 percent. Palm oil faces resistance at 2,348 ringgit per tonne. It may consolidate in the range of 2,322-2,348 ringit or retrace to support at 2,290 ringgit, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
In other related oils, the Chicago December soyabean oil contract fell 1.2 percent on Monday and was last down 0.2 percent on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the September soyabean oil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.2 percent and the Dalian September palm oil contract gained 0.2 percent.
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