Palm tracks rival Chicago Soyoil Dalian's olein lower

Malaysian palm futures fell on Wednesday, marking the fourth?straight session of declines, following weakness in Chicago soyoil and Dalian's palm oil.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery at Bursa Derivatives Exchange dropped 1 ringgit or 0.02% to 4,052 Ringgit ($1,042.45) per metric ton.

A Kuala Lumpur based trader said, "Palm follows mostly firmer external market conditions and some bargain-buying? given recent losses."

Dalian's soyoil contract that is most active rose by?0.96% while palm oil contract fell by 0.16%. Prices of soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped by 0.46%.

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

Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia both report that exports of Malaysian products containing palm oil fell by 12.1% between January 1 and 25.

The ringgit (palm's trade currency) has slightly increased by 0.08%. This makes the commodity more costly for buyers who hold foreign currencies.

Chicago?soybeans

The dollar reached a three-month high Wednesday, boosted by optimism about?Chinese consumer demand. Beijing's comments eased concerns about the U.S. policy on tariffs.

Oil prices

Edged?higher

Investors weighed the threat of a military conflict between Iran and the U.S. that could disrupt the supply, as well as the large increase in U.S. crude inventories.

Palm oil is more attractive as a biodiesel feedstock due to the stronger crude oil futures.

(source: Reuters)