Palm ends lower on profit taking ahead of a major conference

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower on Tuesday after four consecutive sessions of gains, dragged down by profit taking ahead of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) conference later this week.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 86 ringgits, or 1.76%, to 4,805 ringgit ($1,107.14) a metric ton on the closing.

“We are seeing some bout of profit taking today before the GAPKI conference. Overall palm’s fundamentals look relatively stable,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Conference 2024 and 2025 Price Outlook is scheduled for Nov. 6-8 in Bali.

Dalian’s most active soyoil contract fell 0.74%, while its palm oil contract declined 0.76%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 0.44%.

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

Palm rangebound on rival oils; market eyes key data

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are forecast to fall in October, marking their first decline in three months, due to lower output and higher exports, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday.

Palm oil stocks are expected to drop to 1.92 million metric tons, while Crude palm oil output is expected at 1.76 million metric tons, according to the survey.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.69% against the U.S. dollar, making the oil more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Oil prices traded in a narrow range on Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be an exceptionally close U.S. presidential election, after rising more than 2% in the previous session as OPEC+ delayed plans to hike production in December.

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

Indonesia raised its crude palm oil reference price for November to $961.97 per metric ton from $893.64 in October, a trade ministry official told Reuters. The new price will put the export tax for November at $124 per ton.