KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Thursday after the Christmas break, driven lower by heavy selling and weakness in Dalian palm olein.
The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 12 ringgit, or 0.26%, to 4,546 ringgit ($1,017.69) a metric ton at the close.
The contract rose 2.82% on Monday and Tuesday.
Crude palm oil futures were pressured by heavy morning selling and overnight weakness in Dalian palm olein, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.05% and its palm oil contract shed 0.34%. The Chicago Board of Trade will reopen for trading at 1430 GMT.
Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Cargo surveyors estimated that Malaysian palm oil exports fell between 1.1% and 4% during the Dec. 1-25 period.
Malaysian palm oil trades sideways ahead of the Christmas holiday
Oil edged higher in thin holiday trading driven by hopes for additional fiscal stimulus in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, and supported by an industry report showing a decline in U.S. crude inventories.
The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.38% against the U.S. dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
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