Palm rises tracking Dalian, crude

Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Monday tracking stronger rival edible oils at Dalian market and crude, also a slightly weaker ringgit.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained RM28, or 0.67 per cent, to RM4,202 (US$988.47) a metric ton by 0353 GMT.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract increased 0.05 per cent, while its palm oil contract gained 0.35 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade slipped 0.35 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 nudged higher on Monday, adding to gains of more than 2 per cent from Friday, as investors eyed further US sanctions on Russia that may affect global supplies, but a ramp-up in Saudi output and ongoing tariff uncertainty limited gains.

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

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks rose 2.41 per cent to an 18-month high of 2.03 million tons at the end of June, industry regulator data showed.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products during July 1-10 were estimated to have risen between 5.3 per cent and 12 per cent from a month earlier, according to data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, slightly weakened 0.02 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Wall Street and European share futures pulled Asian indices lower on Monday as the latest salvo of threats in the US tariff wars kept investors on edge, though there were still hopes it was mainly bluster by President Donald Trump.

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