KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday for a fifth straight session to their lowest in three months, reflecting weakness in competing markets and declines in commodities globally, although a weak ringgit provided some support.

By the close, benchmark palm oil for October on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had slipped 0.47 per cent to 2,130 ringgit ($558.62) a tonne.

Earlier in the session the contract hit 2,115 ringgit, its lowest since April 30. Total traded volume stood at 37,341 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the roughly 35,000 lots usually traded daily.

“We’re taking the lead from the Dalian market,” said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur, referring to recent declines in soybean oil futures in China’s Dalian Commodities Exchange.

Despite the external pressure on the Asian palm benchmark, a weak ringgit was offering some support, a second trader said.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

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