Palm oil retreats on profit taking, weaker rivals
- The most-active soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.27%
JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday after hitting a one-and-a-half-month high in the previous session, weighed down by weak rival edible oils and as traders locked in profits.
The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 16 ringgit, or 0.34%, at 4,656 ringgit ($1,125.18) a metric ton by the close, after logging two straight sessions of gains.
“We’ve witnessed profit taking today after the recent rally. The high prices are basically a bane for palm, with buyers limiting their purchases,” said Paramalingan Supramaniam, director at the Selangor-based firm Pelindung Bestari.
In rival markets, soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were unchanged. The most-active soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.27%, while the palm oil contract was down 0.71%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Supporting the market, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-20 rose 19.1% from a month earlier, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said shipments over the same period jumped 25% on a monthly basis.
The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.19% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Palm oil FCPOc3 is biased to break a resistance at 4,697 ringgit per metric ton in the third quarter and rise into the4,933-5,226 ringgit range, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.