Palm ends lower on weak crude oil, logs weekly fall

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Friday, snapping a two-week rally, as weaker crude oil prices pressured the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 6 ringgit, or 0.13%, to 4,514 ringgit ($1,068.66) a metric ton at the close. The contract fell 0.68% this week.

The market traded lower as weak crude oil prices weigh on market sentiment, said David Ng, a proprietary trader at Kuala Lumpur-based trading firm Iceberg X Sdn Bhd.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Oil prices edged lower, heading for a weekly loss of around 3% after the IEA forecast a growing glut and U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet again to discuss Ukraine.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract added 0.05%, while its palm oil contract shed 0.19%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.49%.

Palm oil tracks 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, strengthened 0.02% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, is considering a plan to require international flights from Jakarta and Bali to use a 1% sustainable aviation fuel blend starting from 2026, energy ministry official Edi Wibowo said.

India has raised the base import prices of gold, silver and all vegetable oils, the government said.