Palm opens lower on weaker Dalian rivals, crude oil

Malaysian palm oil futures inched lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, weighed down by weaker Dalian oils and crude oil prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid RM15, or 0.33 per cent, to RM4,481 (US$1,061.60) a metric ton in early trade.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.31 per cent, while its palm oil contract shed 0.73 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.42 per cent.

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

Oil prices fell in early trade, extending losses from the previous session, as investors weighed the International Energy Agency’s warning of a supply surplus in 2026 and US-China trade tensions that could hurt demand.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.17 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Indonesia may regulate exports of crude palm oil to ensure there is enough domestic supply to produce biodiesel, its energy minister said.

Malaysia has lowered its November crude palm oil reference price to a level that maintains the export duty at 10 per cent.

European Union soybean imports for the 2025/26 season, which began in July, had reached 3.41 million tons by October 12, down 7 per cent from the same period a year earlier, while palm oil imports declined 28 per cent to 0.73 million tons, according to data published by the European Commission.

Asian stocks staged a tentative rebound on Wednesday, helped by dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and upbeat bank earnings on Wall Street, though simmering US-China trade tensions kept a lid on risk appetite.

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