KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower at the close of trade on Tuesday, tracking weaker related edible oils on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange.

The benchmark palm oil contract for delivery in October on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was last down 0.4per cent at 1,981 ringgit ($482.00) per tonne at the close of trade. Palm had earlier charted three consecutive sessions of gains. “Palm is down following weaker external markets,” said a Kuala Lumpur based trader.

Soy oil prices on the CBOT and Dalian edged lower on Tuesday afternoon. US Soy oil futures on the CBOT were down 0.1pc, easing from a two week high hit during the previous session. Meanwhile, the September soy oil contract on the Dalian exchange slipped 0.04pc and the Dalian September palm oil gained 0.2pc.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements in related oils that compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market. A stronger ringgit also weighed on the market, as this makes the edible oil more expensive for foreign buyers.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, is currently trading at its strongest levels in three months. It last weakened 0.1pc to 4.11 against the dollar, after charting four previous days of gains.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019