Malaysian palm oil futures easier

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures closed at a two-month low on Thursday amid weaker edible oils and rising production expected in key palm-producing countries.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 68 ringgit, or 1.73%, at 3,874 ringgit ($811.48) a metric ton, the lowest since February 27. Rising production and losses in related vegetable oils futures on the Chinese exchanges are dragging down Malaysian palm, said Sathia Varqa, a senior analyst at Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 1.25%, while its palm oil contract lost 2.58%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade traded flat after shedding 1.33% on Wednesday.

Weakness in soft oils, especially soyoil, has forced palm oil prices to ease, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head at Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Vegetable oil demand from both the edible and biodiesel sectors is seen to be limited, said Sandeep Singh, director of The Farm Trade, a Kuala Lumpur-based consulting and trading firm.

However, uncertain weather conditions and lower end stocks may prompt consumers to “come in to replenish their pipelines,” Singh added. Malaysia’s meteorological agency further reduced issuances of Level 1 hot weather alerts to 15 areas on Thursday evening.

Hot weather negatively affects palm yields. Members of Malaysia’s Programme Advisory Committee discussed initiatives and methods to improve crop materials and efficient farm management to boost yields, Malaysia-based Bernama reported on Wednesday.

The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries has called on the European Union to delay the implementation of deforestation rules by at least a year for small businesses.

Independent inspection company AmSpec Agri said exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-25 fell 0.5% from March 1-25, while cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said exports rose 1.5%. Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance estimates exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-25 at 931,938 metric tons.