JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday, tracking soyoil and palm oil contract at the Dalian market and a stronger ringgit.
Palm oil higher on muted production expectations
The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 9 ringgit, or 0.23%, at 3,926 ringgit ($906.07) a metric ton, as of 0232 GMT.
The contract has declined 1.46% so far this week.
Fundamentals
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.34%, while its palm oil contract was up 0.97%. The Chicago Board of Trade declined 0.8%.
Palm oil tracks price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
The Malaysian ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, gained 0.1% against the dollar. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil less attractive for foreign currency holders.
Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are expected to have climbed to a six-month high at end-August due to lacklustre export demand, a Reuters survey showed.
Indonesia, the biggest palm oil exporter, plans to lower export duties to improve competitiveness and raise farmers’ income.
Malaysia’s August palm oil exports are seen at 1,376,412 metric tons, according to Amspec Agri.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell 9.9% to 1,445,442 tons in August from 1,604,578 tons in July, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.
Oil prices edged up as investors weighed a big US crude inventories withdrawal and a delay to production hikes by OPEC+ producers against mixed US employment data.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Palm oil may retest support at 3,864 ringgit, a break below which could trigger a fall into the 3,777-3,821 ringgit range, according to Reuters’ technical analyst Wang Tao.
Source: Brecorder
