Palm opens lower on weaker rival oils, crude oil prices
30/07/2026 (New Straits Times), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Thursday, falling for a third session in four on weaker rival edible oils and crude oil prices.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid RM16, or 0.34 per cent, to RM4,648 (US$1,137.82) a metric ton in early trade.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.45 per cent, while its palm oil contract shed 0.11 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.28 per cent.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Oil prices gave up some of their gains as oil tankers continued to make their way out of the Middle East even as tensions there escalated, with the US-Iran war spreading beyond its main fronts.
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.07 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Indonesia has raised its palm oil-based biodiesel allocation for 2026 to 16.75 million kilolitres to meet additional demand from the country's B50 biodiesel mandate launched earlier this month, an energy ministry document showed.
Palm oil may retrace towards RM4,524 per ton, as it has broken support at RM4,675 and fallen into a triangle, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Asian stocks struggled for direction on Thursday, nursing steep losses for the week on mounting investor jitters around the AI trade, while a divided Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, leaving bond markets questioning where rates are headed.
Source: Reuters