Palm oil prices rose, following the rise in crude oil prices

Palm oil prices rose, following rising crude oil prices, amid expectations of inventory drawdowns in the coming weeks, said David Ng, a trader at Iceberg X in Kuala Lumpur. Analysts at Kenanga Futures add that the rise in futures was likely supported by strong demand for tropical oil exports in March. Kenanga Futures also sees support for the June futures contract at 4,690 ringgit and resistance at 4,830 ringgit. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for June delivery rose 25 ringgit to 4,794 ringgit ($1,186.93) per metric tonne.

The palm oil market remains volatile amid uncertainty surrounding ongoing negotiations, and conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran prevent traders from confidently assessing whether the conflict in the Middle East will abate or escalate, said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director of Pelindung Bestari, a brokerage firm based in Selangor.

On the supply side, production data shows only a slight increase, indicating stocks at the end of March of around 2–2.2 million tonnes. This supports the market as the downward trend in production volumes is gradually but steadily easing, Supramaniam said.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council is expected to release supply and demand data for March on April 10.

Tags: prices, palm oil