JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Wednesday, tracking strength in Dalian’s palm olein contract and Chicago soyoil, although weak exports data limited gains.

Palm oil falls as weaker exports weigh

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 40 ringgit, or 1.04%, to 3,900 ringgit ($812.67) per metric ton in early trade.

Fundamentals

• Soyoil contract at Dalian Commodity Exchange were down 0.11%, while its palm oil contract rose 0.82%. Meanwhile, soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.4%.

• Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

• Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-20 were seen falling by 3.4% to 18.3% from the previous month, cargo surveyors data showed.

• Oil prices regained some ground in early Asian trade on Wednesday, as investors weighed concerns over output cuts by key producers and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea against dimmed expectations of US rate cuts.

• Palm oil looks neutral in a narrow range of 3,856-3,891 ringgit per metric ton, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.