Malaysian palm oil eases

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were largely unchanged on Friday, but logged a fourth straight weekly gain on concerns over extreme weather conditions affecting yields.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 2 ringgit, or 0.05%, at 4,293 ringgit ($913.02).

The contract gained 4.86% for the week, its highest weekly jump since Jan. 12. Weather concerns and lower yields are the two main catalysts behind the recent rally in Malaysian palm oil futures, said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

“Overall, supply constraints are still visible in the palm market, and until we sight a significant recovery, prices will continue to remain resilient,” Supramaniam said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract edged up 0.62%, while its palm oil

contract gained 0.47%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.83%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices edged lower on Friday but were on track to gain nearly 4% for the week, boosted by the International Energy Agency revising its 2024 oil demand forecasts higher and an unexpected decline in US stockpiles.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The Malaysian ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, fell 0.38% against the dollar, making the commodity less expensive for buyers holding the foreign currency.

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks at the end of February dwindled to their lowest in seven months as production hit a 10-month low, offsetting the slowdown in exports.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-15 rose 3.3% to 580,330 metric tons from 561,614 metric tons shipped during the previous month, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Friday.

Another cargo surveyor, AmSpec Agri Malaysia, said exports during the same period rose 8.4% from a month ago to 542,973 tons.