KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Thursday evening, ending the day slightly weaker after posting gains at noon, as market sentiment turned bearish on a less than expected drop in output.

The market was up earlier on the back of a weaker ringgit and overnight gains in soyoil on the US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

A weaker ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, typically makes the tropical oil cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.04 per cent at 2,488 ringgit ($635.50) a tonne at the close of trade.

Trading volumes stood at 40,154 lots of 25 tonnes each on Thursday evening. “Malaysian Palm Oil Association’s output drop is less than expected,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, referring to Feb 1-20 output data which she said showed a 6.4pc decline versus the corresponding period last month.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018