Palm oil slips on stronger ringgit, while firmer rivals cap losses
Malaysian palm oil futures eased as a firmer ringgit offset gains in Dalian and Chicago edible oils. Traders await the Jan. 12 MPOB report, with inventories expected at a seven-year high. Weak Indian demand and stronger Indonesian exports added pressure, keeping prices range-bound between 3,975–4,024 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Tuesday as a weaker ringgit outweighed the strength in rival edible oils in Dalian and Chicago, while market participants awaited further leads from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board data due next week.
The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 14 ringgit, or 0.35%, to 4,000 ringgit ($987.41) a metric ton by the midday break.
The contract traded in a tight range of 3,997-4,034 ringgit per ton in the morning session.
“Today’s CPO future is tracking Dalian and ringgit performance while waiting for 12th January MPOB report,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said, adding both Dalian’s palm and soyoil contracts pared some of its earlier gains.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.71%, while its palm oil contract added 0.28%.
Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade barely changed, up 0.08%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Malaysian ringgit, the contract currency of trade, firmed 0.47% against the US dollar, making the contract less attractive for foreign currency holders.
Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are expected to have risen to their highest in almost seven years in December, as strong production overpowered a modest improvement in exports, a Reuters survey showed. India’s palm oil imports fell to an eight-month low in December, weighed down by weaker winter demand and as refiners increased purchases of rival oils such as soyoil and sunflower oil, according to five dealers.
Indonesia exported 20.85 million tons of crude and refined palm oil in between January and November 2025, up 4.32% year-on-year, the statistics bureau said.
Palm oil looks neutral in the 3,975-4,024 ringgit per ton range, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
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Source : Business Recorder
