Palm oil ends with nearly 9% loss for 2025

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower on Wednesday as market participants booked profits ahead of the New Year holiday, winding up a volatile year with a nearly 9% loss as geopolitical uncertainties and tariff worries took a toll.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (BMDE) lost 20 ringgit, or 0.49%, to 4,050 ringgit ($998.27) a metric ton at the close.

“Futures were seen trading lower today on profit taking,” said Anilkumar Bagani, research head at Mumbai’s Sunvin Group.

Last year, the futures had gained nearly 20%.

“Palm witnessed a very volatile market this year, with varied uncertainties in global macro scenarios and tariffs and moved from the highs of about 4,650 to the lows of 3,725 ringgit,” said Sandeep Singh, founder of Kuala Lumpur-based consulting and trading company, The Farm Trade.

2026 could still be volatile from changing global economic scenarios, currency fluctuations and crude oil prices, he said. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.15%, while its palm oil contract fell 0.19%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.18%.

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

Malaysian palm oil products exports for December fell 5.2% compared to November, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said, while according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services, it fell 5.8%.

Indonesia has set its crude palm oil reference price at $915.64 per metric ton for January, down from December’s $926.14 per ton, according to a Trade Ministry regulation.

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday and are set to fall more than 15% over the course of 2025, as oversupply concerns grow.

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

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.27% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.