KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, reversing from early gains and snapping a three-session rally on market talks of a slowdown in export shipments for February. The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 24 ringgit, or 0.65%, at 3,652 ringgit ($903.96) a tonne.
Palm contract earlier rose as much as 1.9% to hit its highest since Jan. 13. Exports during Feb. 1-25 are expected to rise between 4% and 7% month-on-month, traders said. Comparatively, exports during Feb. 1-20 rose between 10% and 28% from the same period in January, according to data from cargo surveyors. Cargo surveyors are scheduled to release the export data on Thursday.
An overnight rise in the soyabean complex and firmer Dalian edible oils limited losses. Dalian’s most-active soyaoil contract rose 2%, while its palm oil contract gained 2.1%. Soyaoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.4%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Palm oil inventories in Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer and exporter, will remain low throughout the year and continue to support high prices, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) said.
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