Palm oil eases on profit-booking ahead of holiday

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Wednesday, its second straight session of losses, on profit booking ahead of a public holiday after hitting a one-month high earlier this week.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 14 ringgit, or 0.46%, to 3,051 ringgit ($732.88) a tonne, after rising to an intraday high of 1.9%.

Indonesia has set crude palm oil export tax at $3 per tonne for November, unchanged from October, Trade Ministry document showed on Tuesday night.

The world's top palm producer is, however, expected to announce a new export levy structure by next week, and will likely hike it to a maximum of $120-$122.50 a tonne, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager & broker at Phillip Futures, Kuala Lumpur.

"This is seen as supportive at the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives."

Indonesia in September said it plans to revise its palm oil export levy rules as part of moves to support its B30 biodiesel mandate, amid concerns that depressed crude prices have made the programme unsustainable.

Palm oil imports into the European Union and Britain in the 2020/21 season that started on July 1 stood at 1.95 million tonnes by Oct. 25, up 3% from the previous season, official EU data showed on Tuesday.

Crude palm oil prices in 2020 are likely to be significantly better than Fitch Ratings' earlier expectations, due mainly to a slower-than-expected recovery in yields, the rating agency said.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract was down 0.5% and its palm oil contract gained 0.7%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 1.6%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

The Malaysian bourse will be closed on Thursday for a public holiday.