VEGOILS-Palm retreats after rallying to 4-1/2-month high
By Matthew Chye
SINGAPORE, July 25 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday, as traders locked in profits after prices rallied to a 4-1/2-month high in the prior session on Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian grain warehouses.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dipped 94 ringgit, or 2.26%, to 4,070 ringgit ($892.54) by the end of trading.
The contract had gained about 3.2% in the previous session, hitting its highest level since March 10.
Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River in a drone attack on Monday, targeting a vital export route for Kyiv in an expanding air campaign that Moscow began last week after quitting the Black Sea grain deal.
A slower rise in July production was confirmed by Malaysian Palm Oil Association data released yesterday, he added.
Malaysia’s palm oil exports during July 1-25 rose 10.8% from the month before, according to AmSpec Agri Malaysia and up 17.8%, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
India’s July edible oil imports were set to jump to a record 1.86 million metric tons, nearly 60% more than normal, as refiners raised purchases to build stocks for festivals amid uncertainty over supplies from the Black Sea, dealers and cargo surveyors said on Tuesday.
($1 = 4.5600 ringgit)
(Reporting by Matthew Chye; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Varun H K and Shailesh Kuber)
