Malaysian palm oil tumbles

Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended 1.8 percent lower on Tuesday as a firmer riggit encouraged investors to continue selling. The benchmark third-month April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange fell 35 ringgit to settle at 1,917 ringgit ($549) per tonne.
Other contracts fell between 25-40 ringgit with overall volume at 10,561 lots. "The firmer ringgit pressured palm oil prices and forced players to liquidate long positions," a Malaysian dealer said. The Malaysian ringgit rose to nine-year high on Tuesday in line with other Asian currencies, supported by expectations the Japanese yen's weakness would be discussed at this week's Group of Seven meeting.
A stronger ringgit against the dollar makes a ringgit-based commodity cheaper and puts pressure on investors to sell. Profit-taking was another factor in Tuesday's fall. "Prices rose for three days and players see big room to take profit," a trader said. However, prices were not expected to fall significantly as they were still supported by soybean, oil which is an upward trend, dealers said.
Chicago Board of Trade soyoil closed 0.25 to 0.31 cents per lb higher on Monday, with March up 0.25 cents at 30.62 cents per lb due to investment fund buying. Palm oil often tracks soybean oil because both commodities are used in products ranging from food and cosmetics to biodiesel. The Malaysian palm oil April contract was expected to trade in a range of 1,900-1,970 ringgit, dealers said. "I think market is supported. The overall scenario for palm oil is still firm," one said.
In electronic trading during Asian hours on Tuesday, March soyoil dropped 0.11 cents to 30.51 cents per lb. In the physical market, palm oil in the southern region for February shipment was quoted at 1,945/1,950 ringgit per tonne.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell 20 percent to 952,753 tonnes in January from 1,198,976 tonnes in December, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports in the period fell 19.1 percent to 957,228 tonnes.