Prices for palm oil products in Europe were mixed at the close on Wednesday, retreating from two-week highs due to the strength of the Malaysian currency and bearish sentiment in the soyabean complex. Crude palm oil initially extended gains to a new two-week peak, with the May/June position earlier offered up $5 at $665 a tonne cif Rotterdam.
But a closing fall for palm oil futures in Malaysia as a rise in the ringgit halted a three-day rally, put pressure on European prices. May/June prices were last offered unchanged on the day at $660. Analysts said palm markets were being buffeted by exchange rates and shifts in export and biofuel policies in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia, but that large global production of oilseeds and derived oils would limit rallies. "Ringgitt volatility and regulation changes continue to impact palm prices," Rabobank analysts said in a report on Wednesday.