KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures took a slight dip in evening trade on Monday after seeing gains in the morning, as traders sold on poorer performing exports and a volatile ringgit.

The ringgit, which tumbled in recent sessions on concerns over Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, fell 0.2 per cent to reach 4.1000 against the dollar in the evening.

A falling ringgit, palm’s currency of trade which dropped 1.9pc on Friday, usually makes the vegetable oil cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.

“The months ahead are going to be difficult for exports. Volatility in the ringgit is soaring, keeping consumers at the sidelines,” he said.

Benchmark palm oil futures for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.04pc to 2,378 ringgit ($580) per tonne at the close of trade. Traded volumes stood at 44,954 lots of 25 tonnes each on Monday evening.

Palm has declined 9.2pc so far this month, its sharpest monthly fall since August 2014. Palm had earlier declined for three consecutive weeks as traders forecast rising output and slowing exports.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2016