Malaysian palm oil surpasses rival edible oils
Malaysian palm futures rose on Thursday, erasing the losses of last session, and tracking stronger competing edible oils.
Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed an increase in inventories for March.
By midday, the benchmark June palm-oil contract traded on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange in Malaysia gained 65 ringgit or 1.57% to 4,213 Ringgit ($941.87) per metric ton.
A Kuala Lumpur trader stated that "the futures react to the rival oil's rise", adding that export data would provide clues as to the direction of the market.
The MPOB reported that Malaysian palm oil stocks rose by 3.52% from the previous month, to 1,56 million metric tonnes at the end March.
An estimate had predicted inventories of 1.56 million tonnes, output at 1,31 million tons and exported at 1.00 million tons.
Dalian's palm oil contract, which is the most active contract in Dalian, gained 1.39%. Chicago Board of Trade Soyoil Prices rose by 0.61%.
As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oil market, it tracks the price changes of competing edible oils.
Oil prices fell as U.S. president Donald Trump escalated a trade conflict with China, even as he announced that tariffs on other countries would be suspended for 90 days.
Palm oil is less appealing as a biodiesel feedstock due to the weaker crude oil futures.
The palm ringgit has strengthened by 0.47% in relation to the U.S. Dollar, increasing the price of the commodity for foreign currency holders. ($1 = 4,4730 ringgit). (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng, Sumana Niandy, and Dewi Kurniawati)
(source: Reuters)
