Palm falls over 2% on cheaper US soyoil, crude

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures retreated on Friday from record highs touched in the previous session as Chicago soyoil contracts weakened and crude oil prices fell further.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 98 ringgit, or 2.1%, lower at 4,497 ringgit ($1,076.35) a tonne, after rising to a record high of 4,595 ringgit on Thursday.

The contract, however, rose for the second consecutive week, up 1.3%.

Friday's fall was due to weakness in soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) following a quarterly stock report from the US Department of Agriculture, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters.

Palm touches highest price on record on surge in exports, costlier rivals

The United States ended the crop year with slightly more soybean supplies than expected, the report showed on Thursday.

The CBOT soybean oil contract was last down 1.1%.

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

Prices were also dragged down by cheaper crude oil, which makes palm a less attractive option for biofuel feedstock.

Oil fell below $78 a barrel on the prospect that OPEC+ producers might step up a planned increase in output to ease supply concerns, although crude remained in sight of a three-year high reached this week.

Aiding sentiment, however, was a 43.2% jump in exports of Malaysian palm oil products in September from the previous month, according to data provided by cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance.

Reuters also reported earlier on Friday that India's palm oil imports in September more than doubled from a year ago to a record 1.4 million tonnes.