KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures extended falls to a more than 22-month low on Wednesday, tracking weakness in related edible oils.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.3 per cent at 2,318 ringgit ($580.66) per tonne, its eighth session fall in a row.

During the session, it fell as much as 1.1pc to 2,300 ringgit, the lowest since July 28, 2016. Trading volumes stood at 55,823 lots of 25 tonnes each.

Sentiment has been hurt by softer rival oils and crude oil, said a trader based in Kuala Lumpur. Palm oil prices track the performances of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. The September soybean oil on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange fell as much as 1.7pc while the Dalian September palm oil contract dropped as much as 2.1pc.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2018