Palm falls on weaker Dalian palm olein futures, ringgit strength
12/02/2025 (Reuters), Jakarta - Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a third straight session on Thursday, mirroring movements in rival Dalian palm olein futures and pressured by a slightly firmer ringgit.
The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell RM13, or 0.32 per cent, to RM4,048 (US$1,035.82) a metric ton by 0239 GMT.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract was up 0.2 per cent, while its palm oil contract fell 0.83 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.32 per cent.
Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Malaysia has raised its March crude palm oil reference price, a change that maintains the export duty at nine per cent, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed.
Indonesia's move to pause biodiesel expansion and expectations of higher production in the coming months are likely to pressure palm oil prices, although strong demand and slowing growth in overall output could limit the downside, analysts said.
Indonesia's palm oil seed sales in 2025 implied that planting remained substantial despite disruptions caused by land seizures by a government forestry task force, said Julian McGill, managing director and founder of advisory firm Glenauk Economics.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products between February 1-10 fell 14.3 per cent from a month earlier, according to independent inspection company AmSpec Agri. Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services estimated a 10.5 per cent fall.
The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.13 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Palm oil may stabilise around a support of RM4,063 per ton and bounce, as suggested by a Fibonacci ratio analysis, according to Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao.
Asian stocks rose to a record high on Thursday, while the dollar firmed a touch against most currencies except the yen after stronger-than-expected US jobs data dented near-term rate-cut expectations, setting the stage for the inflation report on Friday.
Oil prices edged up as investors worried about escalating tensions between the US and Iran.