Palm tracks rival oils lower, posts third weekly drop

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures posted a third consecutive weekly drop as the market retreated on Friday after two sessions of gains, tracking weakness in rival vegetable oils.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 60 ringgit, or 1.52%, to 3,899 ringgit ($827.81) a metric ton at closing. The contract was down 1.19% for the week.

“Crude palm oil futures traded lower on weekend profit-taking after posting two consecutive days of gains. Losses in related vegetable oil futures on the Dalian exchange were also weighing down on CPO futures,” said Sathia Varqa, senior analyst with Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics.

Market participants are now waiting for production estimates for the June 1-20 period to assess end-month inventory, he added.

Palm rangebound as traders eye export estimates

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-20 fell between 8.1% and 12.9% from May 1-20, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia and Intertek Testing Services said, better than the estimates for the June 1-15 period.

Meanwhile, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) projected exports at 737,717 metric tons compared with 647,353 tons shipped during May 1-20, according to LSEG.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract was down 0.99%, while its palm oil contract slid 078%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.45%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.