Palm rises for three consecutive weeks on strong rival oils

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures booked a third straight weekly rise on Friday as the market rebounded from a three-day slide, helped by overnight strength in Chicago soyoil and rival Dalian edible oils in Asian hours, while strong exports and marginal output growth added support.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 71 ringgit, or 1.59%, to 4,531 ringgit ($1,072.43) a metric ton at closing.

The contract gained 1.32% for the week.

“Our production in August is kind of low. Preliminary numbers are pointing towards a growth of marginally 2-3% only and exports will remain robust for August and September,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.64%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.4%. Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade eased 0.02% after surging 4.73% in the previous session.

Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Palm falls on weak Dalian rival vegetable oils

Indian importers for the first time bought palm oil from Colombia and Guatemala as producers sitting on surplus stocks offered cargoes at steep discounts, four trade sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in the August 1-20 period rose between 13.6% and 17% from the same period last month, data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and inspection firm AmSpec Agri Malaysia showed.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to rule on a growing backlog of requests from small oil refiners seeking relief from U.S. biofuel laws as early as Friday, but will delay a decision on whether larger refiners must compensate by boosting their own biofuel blending, according to two sources familiar with the planning.

Palm oil looks neutral in a range of 4,475 ringgit to 4,542 ringgit per ton, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.