Palm falls for a fourth session, tracks weakness in Dalian palm oil

Malaysian palm oil futures tumbled for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, tracking weakness in Dalian palm oil, while market participants assessed the flood situation in Malaysia – the world’s second-largest palm oil producer.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 30 ringgit, or 0.74%, at 4,025 ringgit ($973.87) a metric ton by the midday break.

“Today, Malaysia crude palm oil future is trading in tight range, tracking Dalian palm oils’ performance, while traders review the flood situation.

So far, only northern Malaysia has been hit by heavy rains,“ a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

More than 11,000 people in seven Malaysian states have been affected by flooding caused by torrential rain, the national disaster agency said on Monday.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract was down 0.24%, while its palm oil contract plunged 1.51%.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.1%. Palm oil tracks price movements in rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.14% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Cargo surveyors will release their November 1-25 export data later in the day.

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