JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures were range-bound on Thursday amid weakness in the Dalian palm oil contract and estimated lower November stocks in Malaysia, the world’s second largest palm oil exporter.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 6 ringgit, or 0.12%, to 5,038 ringgit ($1,137.76)a metric ton by 0245 GMT.

Palm futures drop as easing rival oils, stronger ringgit weigh

The contract traded in the 4,988-5,107 ringgit per ton range earlier, after dropping 0.85% on Wednesday.

Fundamentals

• Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract shed 0.58%, while its palm oil contract tumbled 1.46%. Soyoil rose 0.31% at the Chicago Board of Trade.

• Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

• Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are forecast to fall in November for a second consecutive month as torrential rains disrupted production, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.

• The Malaysian ringgit, the contract currency of palm’s trade, strengthened 0.49% against the US dollar in early trade. A stronger ringgit makes palm less attractive for foreign currency holders.

• Oil prices rose ahead of an OPEC+ meeting later in the day, with investors waiting to see what the producer group would do next on supply cuts while also monitoring tension in the Middle East.

• Palm oil is expected to retest resistance at 5,162 ringgit per metric ton, driven by a wave 5, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.