Palm gains on stronger Dalian oils By Dewi Kurniawati

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures opened higher on Wednesday, supported by stronger movement of edible oils in the Dalian market.

Indonesia to raise palm oil export levy

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 54 ringgit, or 1.24%, to 4,420 ringgit ($998.87) a metric ton in early trade.

Fundamentals

• Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.52%, while its palm oil contract gained 1.13%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.28%.

• Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

• Malaysia has maintained its April export tax for crude palm oil at 10% and raised its reference price, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Wednesday.

• According to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri, exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell 10.1% to 396,865 tons during March 1-15, while Intertek Testing Services said it fell 7.5% to 420,677 metric tons.

• Indonesia’s crude and refined palm oil exports surged 62.2% in February from a month ago to reach a four-month high, the statistics bureau said on Monday, as Jakarta’s move to lower export taxes attracted buyers away from Malaysia.

• Oil prices slid on Wednesday after Russia agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal that Moscow and Kyiv stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure temporarily, which could lead to more Russian oil entering global markets.

• Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

• The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.41% against the dollar.

• Palm oil may test support at 4,352 ringgit per metric ton, a break below which could open the way toward 4,262 ringgit to 4,296 ringgit range, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.