Malaysian palm oil lower

Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower on Monday following a decline in rival oils, while weaker Malaysian palm oil exports in February also weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 71 ringgit, or 1.56%, to close at 4,483 ringgit ($1,004.26) per metric ton.

“The futures are mirroring sell-off in Chicago’s soyoil futures and in South American markets on Friday night and weakness in Dalian’s palm olein and soyoil futures in Asian hours,” said Anilkumar Bagani, head of research at Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group. “The market has also followed the weaker Malaysian palm oil export performance in February.”

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.25%, while its palm oil contract lost 0.46%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.14% earlier in the session from Friday’s closing level, but reversed course to close 0.11% higher.

Palm oil is affected by the price movements in related oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Malaysian palm oil products exports in February are estimated to fall 8.5%-11%, according to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia and cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

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