Palm falls tracking weaker Dalian rivals, crude oil

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Tuesday, tracking weakness in rival Dalian vegetable oils and weighed down by softer crude oil prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 40 ringgit, or 0.86%, to 4,603 ringgit ($1,126.81) a metric ton by the midday break.

“Today’s palm market opened lower, following the weakness seen in rival oilseeds during Asia trading hours.

The benchmark traded within a narrow range while still managing to hold above the key psychological support level of 4,600 ringgit,“ a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract lost 0.45%, while its palm oil contract fell 0.79%.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade eased 0.07%.

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

Palm rises on bargain buying, high stocks cap gains

Oil prices softened, with markets weighing reports of mediation efforts between the US and Iran against an exchange of fresh attacks between the two and threats of a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthis.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for the July 1-20 period fell 0.9% from a month earlier, AmSpec Agri Malaysia said on Monday.

According to Intertek Testing Services, exports rose 4.1%.

Malaysia is expected to see record-high temperatures next year as El Niño strengthens, its meteorological department told Reuters, stoking worries about lower palm oil production.

Palm oil may retrace into a range of 4,580 ringgit to 4,600 ringgit per ton, following its failure to break a resistance at 4,665 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.