Malaysian palm oil higher

Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, after two sessions of losses, mirroring movement in the Chicago soyoil market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 14 ringgit, or 0.32%, to 4,363 ringgit ($980.23) a metric ton in opening trade.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.37%, while Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 1.74%, and its palm oil contract lost 1.46%.

Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. China swiftly retaliated against fresh US tariffs imposed on Tuesday, hiking import levies covering $21 billion worth of American agricultural and food products and moving the world’s top two economies a step closer towards an all-out trade war.

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are forecast to fall in February to their lowest in nearly three years on production disruptions caused by floods, a Reuters survey showed. Meanwhile, India’s palm oil imports rose 36% on-month in February after falling to their lowest since March 2011 in January, according to estimates from dealers. Oil prices fell for a third session on Wednesday as plans by major producers to raise output in April combined with concerns that US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will slow economic and fuel demand growth hammered investor sentiment.

Tags: palm oil, futures, benchmark contract, soyoil, Malaysia