KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended at a record high on Friday, notching their fifth straight weekly gain, driven by estimates of lower output in January and Indonesia’s plans to limit exports of the commodity.
The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 136 ringgit, or 2.62% to 5,323 ringgit ($1,271.92) a tonne. For the week it gained 3.9%.
“Futures raced higher in the last two days underpinned by euphoria over Indonesia’s soft controls on exports,” said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics.
But the contract is showing signs of running out of steam from profit-taking and adjusting to soybean oil prices, he added.
Indonesia’s plan to limit palm oil exports that has driven prices to record highs is likely to make leading importer India shift to substitute soy and sunflower oils, potentially capping the market’s rally, industry officials and analysts said on Thursday.
Malaysia’s Southern Peninsula Palm Oil Millers’ Association (SPPOMA) estimated production during Jan. 1-20 declined 16.7% from the month before, traders said.
Exports from the world’s second-largest producer for Jan. 1-20 fell 43.1% to 626,029 tonnes from Dec. 1-20, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said.
Production in Malaysia throughout the pandemic has been hammered by a severe labour crunch due to border closures to control the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 2.1%, while its palm oil contract gained 1.7%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.3%, after jumping 3.5% overnight.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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