KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures eased at the close of trade on Monday as the market expects July output to rise amid weak demand.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 0.8pc at 1,945 ringgit ($469.92) per tonne, a third session of losses in four.

Palm oil looks neutral in a range of 1,944-1,966 ringgit per tonne, and a breakout could suggest a direction, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

Official palm oil data for June will be published by the MPOB after 0430 GMT on July 10. In other related oils, US soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.5pc, while the September soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.6pc. The Dalian September palm oil contract was down 0.3pc. Palm oil prices are impacted by movements in related oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2019