Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Thursday after rising to a 20-month high earlier in the day, giving up gains on the back of a stronger ringgit. Palm hit a two-week low of 2,408 ringgit last week before rising for three sessions to a 20-month top of 2,512 ringgit. The palm oil contract for April on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.9 percent lower at 2,480 ringgit ($589.07) per tonne after hitting an intraday high of 2,512 ringgit, the most since May 28, 2014.
Traded volume stood at 45,869 lots of 25 tonnes each. "The ringgit strengthened so it's a good opportunity for the correction," said a trader at a Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage. "The market has traded from 2,408 ringgit to a high of 2,512 ringgit, so it's normal to pull back a bit." The ringgit gained 1 percent against the dollar to 4.210. A weaker ringgit, usually lends support to the vegetable oil by making it cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. The US March soyoil contract gained 0.3 percent, while the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.2 percent.