Palm oil closes up after crude prices climb higher

Business Recorder reported that Malaysian palm oil futures finished higher on Monday, helped by firmer crude oil and stronger soyoil prices in Chicago. The November benchmark on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed at 4,853 ringgit ($1,191.21) per metric ton, up 39 ringgit or 0.81%.

Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday as supply worries deepened following recent maritime assaults and fresh hits to Saudi energy facilities in the region. Traders said stronger crude makes palm a more appealing feedstock for biodiesel, and one Kuala Lumpur-based trader expected demand for bio-diesel use to improve later.

In Dalian, the most-active soyoil contract declined 1.08%, while the palm oil contract there slid 1.24%. The ringgit lost 0.15% against the dollar, a move that effectively reduces the cost for overseas purchasers. Cargo surveyors put the fall in Malaysian palm product shipments for September 1 to 10 at 11.7% to 17.5% compared with a month before.