Palm ends lower on firmer ringgit, weaker Dalian market

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower for a third session on Thursday, as a slightly firmer ringgit added to the losses in the Dalian market and the lack of positive signals from a key market conference.

The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 24 ringgit, or 0.59%, to 4,037 ringgit ($1,035.39) a metric ton.

“The firmer ringgit continues to weigh on export competitiveness and temper buying interest. At the same time, Dalian palm olein was lower, adding pressure from the broader vegetable oils complex,” said Kang Wei Cheang, an analyst from StoneX, a Singapore-based agricultural commodities firm.

Traders are also digesting mixed discussions from the Price Outlook Conference in Kuala Lumpur, with no fresh bullish catalyst emerging in the near term, he said.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.31% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract was down 0.22%, while its palm oil contract fell 1.5%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.81%.

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

Meanwhile, Malaysia raised its March crude palm oil reference price, maintaining the 9% export duty, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed.

Elsewhere, Indonesia’s move to pause biodiesel expansion and expectations of higher production in the coming months are likely to pressure palm oil prices, although strong demand and slowing growth in overall output could limit the downside, analysts said.

Indonesia’s palm oil seed sales in 2025 implied that planting remained substantial despite disruptions caused by land seizures by a government forestry task force, said Julian McGill, MD and founder of advisory firm Glenauk Economics.