Palm trades lower on profit-booking and tracking Dalian palm

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday, as traders booked profits following early gains that were triggered by a drop in November stockpiles.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 16 ringgit, or 0.32%, to 4,935 ringgit ($1,115.25) a metric ton by the midday break.

Malaysia’s palm oil stockpiles dropped for a second consecutive month in November, falling 2.6% from the prior month to 1.84 million tons, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed on Tuesday. The drop in inventories could fuel a rally in benchmark futures.

Crude palm oil production declined 9.8% in November to 1.62 million tons, the lowest for the month since 2020, while palm oil exports plunged 14.7% to 1.49 million tons, the board said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 1.11%, while its palm oil contract fell 1.34%. Soyoil gained 0.44% at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Malaysia end-November palm oil stocks fall 2.6% m/m, MPOB says

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Tuesday that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Dec. 1-10 rose 3.9%, while according to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia it rose 1.1%.

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, with market participants expecting demand to rise in the world’s largest crude importer, after Beijing announced a looser monetary policy to stimulate economic growth in China.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Palm oil is expected to stabilize around support at 4,915 ringgit per metric ton and test resistance at 4,983 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.