KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were largely unchanged on Thursday, as traders awaited export and production data from the world’s second-biggest producer for further cues.

Palm oil erases early gains to close lower

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged up 6 ringgit, or 0.15%, to 3,912 ringgit ($833.58) per metric ton during early trade.

Fundamentals

• Malaysian palm oil inventories by the end of May were seen at 1.75 million metric tons according to the median estimate of 10 traders, planters and analysts polled by Reuters, up 0.39% from 1.74 million tons recorded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) at the end of April.

• Exports of palm oil products were estimated to have jumped by 14.32% in the same period to 1.41 million tons due to recovery in palm’s competitive price to soybean oil in May.

• The MPOB is scheduled to release its monthly palm oil data on June 10.

• Oil rose in early Asian trading on Thursday on rising expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, and as the market rebounded from a selloff related to growing US inventories and an OPEC+ plan to increase supply.

• Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

• Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.28%, while its palm oil contract added 0.26%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.83%.

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

• The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.06% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding the foreign currency.