Palm oil slips on stronger ringgit, while firmer rivals cap losses

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Tuesday as a firmer ringgit outweighed the strength in rival edible oils in Dalian commodity exchange, while market participants awaited data from the country’s Palm Oil Board that is due next week.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 22 ringgit, or 0.55%, to 3,992 ringgit ($987.14) a metric ton at closing.

“Today’s CPO future is tracking Dalian and ringgit performance while waiting for 12th January MPOB report,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said, adding that both Dalian’s palm and soyoil contracts pared some of their earlier gains.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.71%, while its palm oil contract added 0.09%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.1%.

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

Malaysian ringgit, the contract currency of trade, firmed 0.64% against the U.S. dollar, making the contract less attractive for foreign currency holders.

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are expected to have risen to their highest level in almost seven years in December, as strong production overpowered a modest improvement in exports, a Reuters survey showed.

India’s palm oil imports fell to an eight-month low in December, weighed down by weaker winter demand and as refiners increased purchases of rival oils such as soyoil and sunflower oil, according to five dealers.

Indonesia exported 20.85 million tons of crude and refined palm oil in between January and November 2025, up 4.32% year-on-year, the statistics bureau said.

Palm oil looks neutral in the 3,975-4,024 ringgit per ton range, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.