Palm snaps five-day rally, dragged down by weak soyoil

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday, snapping a run of five consecutive sessions of gain, dragged down by weakness in Dalian and Chicago soyoil prices and lower exports in November.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 62 ringgit, or 1.24%, to 4,958 ringgit ($1,112.41) a metric ton at closing.

The contract rose 6.9% in November, logging its fourth monthly gain.

“Today’s crude palm oil futures are having a profit-taking run after the recent rally on the back of softer Dalian, Chicago soyoil and lower export figures for the month of November,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract shed 0.98%, while its palm oil contract climbed 1.31%. Soyoil at the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 0.34% as trading resumed after the Thanksgiving holiday.

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

Malaysian palm oil exports in November are estimated to have fallen between 9.3% and 10.4%, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia.

Indonesia raised its crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for December to $1,071.67 a metric ton from $961.97 in November, placing the export tax higher at $178 per ton.

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