NEW DELHI: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Monday after a sell-off in rival soyoil, while the market awaits the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s widely watched data on output and inventories.
The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 3 ringgit, or 0.08%, at 3,895 ringgit ($891.71) a metric ton.
Crude palm oil futures fell after a sell-off in soyoil in Chicago, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head at Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is scheduled to release its monthly palm oil data on Tuesday.
Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are expected to have climbed to a six-month high by the end of August due to lacklustre export demand, a Reuters survey showed.
The country’s palm oil exports for August are seen at 1,376,412 tons, according to Amspec Agri.
Indonesia, the biggest palm oil exporter, plans to lower export duties to improve competitiveness and raise farmers’ income.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell 9.9% to 1,445,442 tons in August from 1,604,578 tons in July, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.
Oil futures jumped by about 1% on Monday as a potential hurricane approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast helped oil prices to recover some of the previous week’s heavy losses.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Palm oil may retest support at 3,886 ringgit per ton, a break below which could trigger a fall to 3,856 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
World equities dithered at four-week lows on Monday, pressured by falling stocks in Asia, while European shares climbed on the prospect of an ECB rate cut on Thursday, government bond yields rose, and oil recovered from last week’s beating.