Malaysian palm oil futures fell lower on stronger soyabean harvest

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday as a rapidly advancing US soyabean harvest and a recovering ringgit weighed on prices, though strong demand limited losses.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 85 ringgit, or 2.3% to 3,668 ringgit ($766.88) a metric ton.

There is an anticipated increase in production and stock levels for October, said Mitesh Saiya, trading manager for Mumbai-based Kantilal Laxmichand & Company.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct. 1-20 were estimated to have risen between 7.9% and 9.9% from a month earlier, data from AmSpec Agri Malaysia and Intertek Testing Services showed. Rapidly advancing US soyabean harvest is likely to boost supplies of the oilseed and its products, including soyaoil. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market. US farmers had harvested three-quarters of their soyabean crop by Sunday, according to weekly data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday.