Palm oil falls on stronger Ringgit, but rivals make up losses
The price of Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday, as the strength in edible oils at the Dalian commodity exchange was outweighed by the firmer ringgit. Meanwhile, market participants were awaiting data from the Palm Oil Board that will be released next week.
The benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in March on the Bursa Derivatives exchange lost 22 ringgit or 0.55% to close at 3,992 Ringgit ($987.14) per metric ton.
A Kuala Lumpur based trader stated that "Today's CPO Future is tracking Dalian performance and the?ringgit while waiting for the 12th January MPOB Report", adding that both Dalian palm and soyoil contract pared their earlier gains.
Dalian's most-active palm oil contract increased by 0.09%, while the soyoil contract grew by 0.71%. Prices of soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped by 0.1%.
As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oil market, it tracks the price changes of rival edible oils.
The Malaysian Ringgit, the contract's currency, has firmed by 0.64% versus the U.S. Dollar, making it less attractive to foreign currency holders.
A survey showed that Malaysian palm oil inventories were expected to be at their highest level in nearly seven years by December. Strong production outweighed a modest increase in exports.
Five dealers report that India's palm-oil imports dropped to a record low of eight months in December. This was due to a weaker winter season and refiners increasing their purchases of competing oils like soyoil or sunflower oil.
The?statistics office reported that Indonesia exported 20,85 million?tons between January 2025 and November 2025. This is an increase of 4.32% on a year-over-year basis.
Technical analyst Wang Tao stated that palm oil is neutral between 3,975-4 ringgit per tonne and an escape from this range could indicate a direction.
(source: Reuters)
