Palm hits 13-week low, on track for second straight weekly loss

Palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange were heading for a second consecutive weekly decline on Friday, according to Business Recorder, after the December contract slipped to its lowest level in 13 weeks. The benchmark fell 26 ringgit, or 0.57%, to 4,528 ringgit a metric ton by midday, having earlier touched its weakest point since July 3. Prices have now dropped for six sessions in a row, and the contract has lost 3.08% over the week so far.

Weak exports and rising stockpiles were cited as the main drags on prices. One Kuala Lumpur-based trader said output climbed sharply in September and end-stocks had risen above 3 million tons. Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia recorded September shipments down between 17.1% and 28.8% from August.

Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade was almost flat, edging up 0.01%, while the Dalian Commodity Exchange was shut for a public holiday. Indonesia shipped 16.13 million tons of crude and refined palm oil over January to August, 0.39% less than a year earlier, according to statistics bureau data. Palm oil moves in step with rival edible oils, which compete with it for a share of the global vegetable oils market.