KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking, but clocked a fourth weekly rise on robust July exports so far and concerns over Black Sea edible oil supplies.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 3 ringgit, or 0.07%, to 4,043 ringgit ($887.21) a metric ton, after rising 0.8% earlier in the day.
Prices failed to sustain early gains due to profit-taking ahead of the weekend and coupled with weakness in rival oilseeds, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
For the week, the contract rose 4.2%.
Malaysia’s palm oil exports during July 1-20 rose 19% from the month before, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Thursday. Another cargo surveyor, AmSpec Agri Malaysia, said exports from the world’s second-largest producer rose 10.1%.
Indonesia’s palm oil exports, including refined products, stood at 2.23 million tonnes in May, compared with just 763,000 tonnes in the same month last year, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association showed.
Russia jolted world grain markets with an escalation in the Black Sea, mounting a third straight night of air strikes on Ukrainian ports and issuing a threat against Ukraine-bound vessels to which Kyiv responded in kind.
The halt on the Black Sea grain deal has created new market uncertainties and lifted corn, wheat and soybean futures, the trader said.
“We have to closely monitor both nations, especially Russia for any fresh news,” she added.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract eased 1.5%, while its palm oil contract lost 1%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.5%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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