Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second consecutive session on Thursday evening on the back of a stronger ringgit, and as it tracked weaker performing related oils on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange. Benchmark palm oil futures for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1.4 percent to 3,096 ringgit ($690) a tonne at the end of the trading day, its sharpest daily decline since December 20.
Traded volumes stood at 41,198 lots of 25 tonnes each on Thursday evening. "Crude palm oil is under pressure from a strengthening ringgit," a futures trader from Kuala Lumpur said, adding that a stronger Chinese yuan also puts pressure on China's commodities prices including Dalian's refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein. Palm takes its cue from the performance of related vegetable oils, as they compete for a share in the global edible oils market.
The May soyabean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.4 percent, while the May contract for Dalian palm olein fell 1.3 percent. A stronger ringgit, palm's currency of trade, also makes the tropical oil more expensive for foreign buyers, curbing its demand. The ringgit strengthened 0.3 percent against the dollar to reach 4.4830 in the evening. In other edible oils, the March soyabean oil contract on the CBOT gained 0.1 percent.
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