Palm retreats on weak export demand, stronger ringgit

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures snapped a three-session rally on Wednesday, weighed down by cargo surveyor data showing weak export demand and a stronger ringgit.

The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 52 ringgit, or 1.22%, to 4,208 ringgit ($949.24) a metric ton at closing.

“Crude palm oil futures are range trading between 4,180 and 4,280 ringgit while waiting for new leads on the back of weak exports and slower production,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Jan. 1-20 were estimated to have fallen between 18.2% and 23%, according to cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia.

The Malaysian ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.89% against the U.S. dollar. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil less attractive for foreign currency holders.

Malaysian palm oil futures rise

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract was up 0.03%, while its palm oil contract fell 1.02%. Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.22%.

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

Malaysian CPO futures are expected to average higher in 2025 than last year, as top producer Indonesia boosts palm oil-based biodiesel consumption, although competition from cheaper rivals is expected to limit the upside, a Reuters poll showed.

Indonesia’s palm oil fund agency has resumed fund disbursement to subsidise biodiesel and oil palm tree replanting programmes after a brief pause during a reorganisation, agency official Achmad Maulizal said on Wednesday.

Palm oil may revisit the Jan. 16 low of 4,106 ringgit per ton, as a bounce triggered by this barrier seems to have completed around 4,265 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.