Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian palm oil futures plummeted nearly 6% on Friday, on course for a fourth weekly loss, as they tracked a rout in crude futures and rival edible oils caused by recession fears and uncertainty over future OPEC+ output.
The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 280 ringgit, or 5.7%, to 4,630 ringgit ($1,050.84) during early trade. It had dropped nearly 3% overnight, also weighed by weak June exports.
Malaysia’s exports in June shrank between 10% and 13.4% from the previous month as shipments to India and the European Union slowed, cargo surveyors said on Thursday.
For the week, palm has lost 0.6% so far.
* Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 4.1%, while its palm oil contract slipped 5.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.4%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Oil prices edged up, after sinking 3% in the previous session as OPEC+ said it would stick to its planned oil output hikes in August and investors worried about the strength of the global economy.
* Weaker crude futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
* Palm oil may break a support at 4,742 ringgit per tonne, and fall to 4,588 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
