Palm ends lower on weaker rival oils, traders await positive cues

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday, tracking weaker rival edible oils, with traders awaiting bullish cues to prop up prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 34 ringgit, or 0.75%, to close at 4,508 ringgit ($1,014.63) a metric ton.

The market was pressured by weakness in rival oilseeds due to a lack of significantly bullish news, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.25% while its palm oil contract shed 0.33%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.5%.

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

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.25% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has set a target to replant 120,000 hectares of smallholders’ palm oil plantations this year, the chief executive of the state plantation fund said.

Brazil’s soybean harvest for the 2024/25 season reached 23% of the planted area, as of last Thursday, up 8 percentage points from the previous week, while 32% of the total area had been reaped, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said.

Brent crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday, adding to gains in the previous session, after a drone attack on an oil pipeline pumping station in Russia reduced flows from Kazakhstan, but gains were capped on the prospects of supply rising soon.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

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