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Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Friday, giving up early gains as they tracked losses in rival soyoil on the Chicago exchange, marking a second consecutive weekly decline. At the close, the benchmark December palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives shed 11 ringgit, or 0.25%, to settle at 4,424 ringgit ($1,052.33) a tonne. The contract lost 0.47% for the week.
The most active soyoil contract on the Dalian exchange rose 0.26%, while its palm oil contract fell 0.3%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slipped 0.31%. Palm oil tracks the price movements of competing vegetable oils, as it vies with them for a share of the global vegetable oil market.
Meanwhile, a statement issued on Friday by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed that Malaysia had raised its reference price for crude palm oil for October to a level that keeps the export duty band at 10%.
In Brazil, national crop agency Conab said on Thursday that farmers are expected to boost soybean output in the new season to nearly 178 million tonnes.
According to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for 1–15 September rose 2.6% compared with 1–15 August, while data from independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia showed a 0.1% decline.
Oil prices fell on Friday, as concerns over fuel demand overshadowed expectations that the first US Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year would boost consumption. Weaker crude oil futures make palm oil a less attractive feedstock for biodiesel. The ringgit, the currency in which palm oil is traded, weakened 0.24% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Source: Reuters