Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday, easing from a seven-week high, in line with weaker crude oil prices and as traders booked profits. The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.3% at 2,061 ringgit ($499.88) per tonne at the close of trade, snapping five straight sessions of gains. Earlier in the session, the contract hit its highest since June 7 at 2,075 ringgit per tonne.
Palm oil may temporarily peak in a range of 2,076-2,083 ringgit per tonne, as suggested by a Fibonacci ratio analysis, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. "Palm prices are tracking lower crude oil prices, along with profit-taking ahead of Tuesday's market close," said a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader. Malaysian markets will be closed on Tuesday for a public holiday, and resume trading on Wednesday.
Oil prices weakened on Monday amid pessimism over US-China trade talks and the prospect of slower economic growth globally that could reduce demand for crude. In related edible oils, US soyoil futures on the CBOT closed up 0.8% on Friday, and were last up 0.1% on Monday. Meanwhile, the September soyoil contract on the Dalian exchange rose 0.9% and the Dalian September palm oil contract gained 0.7%. Palm oil prices are affected by movements in related oils that compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.