Palm falls on weaker crude, firmer rival oils cap decline
20/05/2026 (New Straits Times), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, after three consecutive sessions of gains, weighed down by weaker crude oil prices and supported by firmer rival edible oils.
The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid RM26, or 0.57 per cent, to RM4,559 (US$1,146.63) a metric ton in early trade.
Oil prices eased after US President Donald Trump again asserted the war with Iran will end "very quickly", though investors remain wary about the outcome of peace talks amid continued disruptions to Middle East supply from the conflict.
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 0.62 per cent, while its palm oil contract added 0.26 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.04 per cent.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.03 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Indonesia plans to tighten control over commodity exports, including coal and palm oil, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
European Union soybean imports for the 2025/26 season that began in July had reached 11.6 million metric tons by May 17, down 8 per cent from the same period a year earlier, while palm oil imports were down 5 per cent to 2.5 million tons, European Commission data showed.
Malaysian palm oil producers are scaling back replanting as rising costs of fertiliser and fuel amid elevated prices of vegetable oil spur farmers to postpone the exercise crucial to sustaining supplies of the world's most widely used edible oil.
Asian stocks fell for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as war-driven inflation fears hammered bonds, while investors awaited earnings from Nvidia to see whether the world's most valuable company might help markets navigate higher borrowing costs.