Malaysian palm oil tumbles, posts steepest weekly fall in nearly 2 years

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled on Friday, posting their steepest weekly decline since mid-December 2024, as weaker soyoil prices pressured the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 119 ringgit, or 2.72 percent, to 4,258 ringgit (USD1,049.54) a metric ton, the lowest closing price since March 5.

The contract fell 9.04 percent this week and logged a second consecutive weekly loss. The market traded lower, pressured by soybean oil weakness, said David Ng, a proprietary trader at Kuala Lumpur-based trading firm Iceberg X Sdn Bhd.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 1.41 percent, while its palm oil contract shed 2.4 1 percent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.53 percent.

Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices were set for a sharp weekly fall after the midterm election losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party raised hopes of a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor for the market. Weaker crude oil futures make palm oil less attractive as biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.3 percent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.