Palmetto slips with a second consecutive weekly loss
Palm oil ended lower on Friday, and recorded a second consecutive weekly loss. This was due to a decline in Chicago soyoil and the persistently slow performance of Malaysian palm oil exports.
The benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in June on the Bursa Derivatives exchange lost 37 ringgit or 0.84% to 4,376 Ringgit ($990.27).
The contract has lost 4.37% in the last week.
Anilkumar bagani, Sunvin Group's head of research, said that the futures traded sideways with prices opening lower. This was due to the weakness in Chicago soybean futures as well as a slowdown in Malaysian palm oil.
Prices were rebounding, however, on the hope of a resurgence in destination demand, mostly from China and India."
Both countries are among the top palm oil importers in the world.
AmSpec Agri Malaysia, an independent inspection company in Malaysia, reported on Thursday that exports of palm oil products from Malaysia for the period March 1-20 were down 5%. Intertek Testing Services, a cargo surveyor, reported a 14.2% decline.
Dalian's most active palm oil contract rose 0.29%, while the soyoil contract dropped 0.12%. The Chicago Board of Trade's (CBOT), soyoil price fell by 0.44%.
As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oil market, it tracks the price changes of competing edible oils.
The impact of the drought on Argentina's soybean crop in 2024/2025 was made clearer by a leading grains exchange, which is the world's biggest exporter of soy oil and meal.
A plantation fund official announced on Tuesday that Indonesia would increase its palm oil export tax to 4.5%-10% from the current 3%-7.5% in order to finance an increase in the amount used to make biodiesel.
Oil prices rose early in Asian trading on Friday and were on track for their second weekly gain after U.S. sanction on Iran. A new OPEC+ production-cutting plan for seven members also raised the bets.
Palm oil is a better option as a biodiesel feedstock because crude oil futures are stronger.
The palm ringgit's currency has strengthened by 0.11% compared to the U.S. Dollar, increasing the price of the commodity for buyers who hold foreign currencies.
(source: Reuters)
