Malaysian palm oil futures settle higher, mirroring soyoil

Malaysian palm oil futures settled higher on Friday, mirroring gains in soyoil, after falling for two straight sessions.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 61 ringgit, or 1.47%, to 4,197 ringgit ($888.72) a metric ton.

Malaysia’s financial markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday but the contract had closed lower on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Upward momentum in soyoil helped palm oil stay bullish and the market is now waiting for industry estimates for March output and exports from leading producer Malaysia, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head at Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.95%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel on Thursday, closing out the month higher on the prospect of OPEC+ staying the course on production cuts, ongoing attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure and a falling U.S. rig count tightening crude supplies.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Indonesia aims to double subsidies for palm oil replanting to 60 million rupiah ($3,785.49) per hectare from May to boost farmers’ participation, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Thursday.

Indonesia’s January palm oil exports, including refined products, stood at 2.8 million metric tons, down from 2.95 million tons in the same month last year, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed on Thursday.

Production of crude palm oil and kernel oil rose to 4.63 million tons from 4.26 million tons, the data showed.

Tags: exports, Indonesia, Malaysia, soyoil, palm oil, futures, contract