Palm tracks Dalian palm oil lower

Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Thursday, snapping three sessions of gains, as weakness in Dalian palm oil and a strong ringgit weighed on the contract.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost RM15, or 0.36 per cent, to RM4,142 (US$975.74) a metric ton by 0239 GMT.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract barely changed, up 0.05 per cent, while its palm oil contract lost 0.35 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.9 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 dropped on Thursday as the latest tariff announcements by US President Donald Trump were perceived by market participants to threaten global economic growth and demand for the resource.

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

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.07 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Asian stocks rose slightly on Thursday, riding on optimism from Nvidia’s brief rise to a world-record US$4 trillion valuation and as investors largely shrugged off US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvos.

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