KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Tuesday, snapping four consecutive sessions of losses, on bargain-buying and as the ringgit fell to its lowest in over two years, making the commodity cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.
The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose from a 10-week closing low hit in the previous session. It gained 64 ringgit, or 1.1%, to 5,857 ringgit ($1,325.11) a tonne.
Price dropped sharply in the last few sessions ahead of changes in Indonesia’s export levy and “bottom fishing at these battered prices” was expected, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
Indonesia issued regulations backing recently announced changes on a palm oil export tax policy, including lowering the maximum levy rate to $200 a tonne from $375 and charging special rates for its export acceleration programme.
Indonesia’s export allocation for palm oil products that is tied to domestic cooking oil distribution has been raised to 2.25 million tonnes, senior trade ministry official Oke Nurwan said on Monday, from around 1 million previously.
Additionally, concerns over weaker demand from China are mounting as the country delayed the reopening of two major cities due to a flare-up in COVID-19 infections, Refinitiv Agriculture Research said in a note late on Monday.
Lending support to palm oil, the ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, fell to its lowest since March 2020.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.6%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.8%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.2%.
Top buyer India’s palm oil imports in May fell 10% from a month ago as top producer Indonesia curbed exports of the edible oil, a trade body said.
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