Palm rises on stronger Dalian oils, crude; weak Chicago soyoil caps gains

Malaysian palm oil futures opened higher on Wednesday for a fourth session, buoyed by stronger rival Dalian oils and crude oil prices, though weaker Chicago soyoil limited gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained RM12, or 0.31 per cent, to RM3,880 (US$913.80) a metric ton in early trade.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.23 per cent, while its palm oil contract added 1.05 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.14 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 edged higher in early trading as the US barred Chevron from exporting crude from Venezuela under a new authorization on its assets there, raising the prospect of tighter supply.

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

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.26 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

European Union soybean imports for the 2024/25 season, which began in July, reached 12.69 million metric tons by May 25, up 7 per cent from the same period a year earlier, while palm oil imports were at 2.57 million tons, down 19 per cent, data published by the European Commission stated.

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