Palm oil prices slip on Dalian weakness; market waits for further leads

Malaysian palm oils futures fell on Monday in line with the decline of rival soyoils traded on the Dalian exchange, as the market awaited more triggers during the holiday season.

By midday, the benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in March on the Bursa Derivatives exchange had fallen 4 ringgit or 0.09% to 4,620 Ringgit ($1,034.25) per metric ton.

A Kuala Lumpur based trader stated that "Today's Futures will be lackinglustre. We are tracking Dalian and waiting for the holidays to end for further leads."

Dalian's soyoil contract with the highest volume dropped by 0.31%, while palm oil contracts increased by 0.11%. Chicago Board of Trade soyoil prices rose by 0.28%.

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

Oil prices rose on Monday, despite a thin holiday trading session ahead of year-end. Traders waited for more economic data from China and the United States later this week in order to gauge growth in these two world's largest oil consumers.

Palm oil is a better option as a biodiesel feedstock because crude oil futures are stronger.

The palm ringgit's trade currency rose by a small 0.02% versus the U.S. Dollar, making it a little more expensive for foreign buyers.

Malaysian palm oil prices dropped between Dec. 1, 2015 and Nov. 1, 2015. $1 = 4.4670 Ringgit (Reporting and editing by Dewi Curniawati)

(source: Reuters)