Palm oil slips as weaker rival oils outweigh strong export outlook

Business Recorder reported that Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Thursday, ending a run of three winning sessions. The December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 78 ringgit lower, or 1.66 per cent, at 4,622 ringgit ($1,132.84) per metric ton. Losses came as weaker rival vegetable oils in Dalian and Chicago weighed on prices, even though export estimates for early October were stronger.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract dropped 1.98 per cent, its palm oil contract fell 3.03 per cent, and soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade slipped 0.92 per cent. Cargo surveyors estimated Malaysian palm product exports for October 1 to 15 rose between 43.2 and 58.3 per cent from a month earlier. Solvent Extractors' Association of India data showed September palm oil imports up 4.5 per cent on the month, reaching 817,884 metric tons.

A circular issued by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board on Wednesday showed a lower November reference price for crude palm oil, with the export duty unchanged at 10 per cent. Crude oil fell about 2 per cent on Thursday, though attacks on Middle East ships and Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites limited the drop. Lower crude prices reduce palm's appeal as a biodiesel raw material, and a firmer ringgit made the commodity slightly costlier for foreign-currency buyers.