Palm oil follows weak crude oil down, and is set to fall weekly

Malaysian palm futures fell on Friday as crude oil prices dropped, causing the market to fall.

By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange for January delivery had fallen 8 ringgit or 0.18% to 4,512 Ringgit ($1,068.43).

David Ng said that the market fell as low crude oil prices weighed on the market sentiment. He is a proprietary trader with Kuala Lumpur based trading firm Iceberg X Sdn. Bhd.

Palm oil is less appealing as a biodiesel feedstock due to the weaker crude oil futures.

Oil prices fell in early trading, heading towards a weekly loss. There is uncertainty about global energy supply after U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to hold a meeting in Hungary to end the war in Ukraine.

Dalian's soyoil contract with the highest volume of activity increased by 0.39% while palm oil contracts fell by 0.17%. Chicago Board of Trade soyoil prices were down by 0.02%.

As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oil market, it tracks the price changes of competing edible oils.

The palm ringgit's trade currency strengthened by 0.05% versus the dollar. This made the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers who hold foreign currencies.

Edi Wibowo, an official from the energy ministry, said that Indonesia, which is the largest palm oil producer in the world, was considering a plan requiring international flights departing from Jakarta and Bali, to use a sustainable aviation fuel blend of 1% starting 2026.

The government of India announced that it has increased the import base prices for gold, silver, and all vegetable oil.

Technical analyst Wang Tao believes that palm oil could revisit its high of 4,612 Ringgit per metric tonne, which was reached on October 10.

(source: Reuters)