KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Tuesday as traders booked profits ahead of the Christmas holidays. The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 28 ringgit, or 0.62%, to 4,514 ringgit a metric ton at the midday break.
Crude palm oil futures traded sideways-to-lower on profit taking ahead of the Christmas holidays, said Anilkumar Bagani, commodity research head at Sunvin group.
Monday’s price rally, driven by Indonesia’s B40 biodiesel news, has been largely priced in, with market participants now remaining cautious amid year end book closures, he added.
The contract gained 2.46% on Monday, snapping six straight sessions of losses. Indonesia’s plan to expand its biodiesel mandate from Jan. 1 looks increasingly likely to be implemented gradually, analysts said last Wednesday, as industry participants seek a phase-in period.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.87%, while its palm oil contract gained 1.24%.
Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.06%. Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Oil prices were up on Tuesday in thin trade ahead of the Christmas Day holiday, with prices supported by US economic data and rising oil demand in India, the world’s third-largest oil importer.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Palm snaps six-session decline on stronger Dalian palm, crude prices
The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, remained unchanged against the dollar.
The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
Palm oil may bounce further into the range of 4,624 ringgit to 4,684 ringgit per metric ton, as it has climbed a falling channel, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
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