Malaysian palm oil futures fell nearly 2% on Monday, weighed down by gains in the ringgit and tracking losses in related edible oils. The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 1.6% at 2,156 ringgit ($516.41) per tonne to mark a third straight session of losses. Palm earlier fell as much as 1.8% to an over one-week low of 2,152 ringgit, its lowest since August 9.
Palm oil may test a support at 2,160 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could cause a fall to 2,113 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. "The ringgit influenced the palm market today," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, earlier strengthened to its strongest level against the dollar in two weeks before paring some gains. It was last up 0.02% to 4.1750 on the day. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
Traders earlier in the day said palm prices were weighed by losses in related edible oils. US soyaoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were last down 0.5%, while the September soyaoil contract on the Dalian exchange eased 0.6%. US grain prices lost ground, giving up some of the previous session's gains as crop-friendly weather in parts of the US Midwest at the weekend boosted hopes of bumper production. Meanwhile, the Dalian September palm oil contract slipped 1.1%. Palm oil prices are affected by movements in related oils that compete in the global vegetable oils market.