Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday for the first time in five sessions as sentiment took a hit from India's plans to raise import taxes on crude and refined edible oils. India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, doubled the import tax on crude palm oils to 15 percent on Friday and raised the import tax on refined palm oils to 25 percent to protect local oilseed farmers from cheaper imports from top suppliers Malaysia and Indonesia.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 0.6 percent at 2,665 ringgit ($620.92) on Monday, after earlier rising to 2,696 ringgit, its highest level since July 31. Traded volumes totalled 37,773 lots of 25 tonnes each.
Uncertainty about future production lifted the market in early trade before the focus switched to India's import tax hike. "The overall picture with external factors are more on the downside, such as US soyaoil... and the India tax," said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Indian demand for palm oil could decline in the coming weeks, said another Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader. Cargo surveyor data showing Malaysia's palm oil exports for the first half of August is scheduled for release on Tuesday. Palm oil prices are affected by the movements in related edible oils including soya, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
The October soyabean oil contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.7 percent, while the January soyabean oil on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.2 percent. In other related oils, the January palm olein contract rose 0.8 percent.