Malaysian palm oil futures ended at a nine-month low on Monday, tracking losses in crude and rival oils, pressured by estimates of higher production amid concerns of weakening demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 59 ringgit, or 2.84%, to 2,016 ringgit ($463.13) per tonne.
Palm fell as much as 3.47% during the session, its lowest since July 23, 2019.
The contract lost 7.2% last week, its biggest weekly drop in eight, after a historic crude oil rout made palm oil less attractive as a biodiesel feedstock.
"Weakness in overnight soyabean oil and current Dalian contributed to lower crude palm oil prices," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
"Nearby contracts also lowered on prospects of higher production," he added.
The Malaysian Southern Peninsular Palm Oil Millers Association estimated output during April 1-25 to have risen 28% from the previous month, traders said.
Dalian's most-active soyaoil contract fell 2%, while its palm oil contracts plunged 2.1%. Soyaoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.35%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Oil prices fell on concerns about scarce storage capacity and global economic doldrums from the coronavirus pandemic.
Palm oil exports from the world's second-largest producer, Malaysia, rose 8.8% in the April 1-25 period from the month before, according to AmSpec Agri Malaysia.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.