Palm drops for second straight session on weaker Dalian vegetable oils

Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses to a second straight sessionon Friday, dragged down by losses in rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, although the contract was on track to post a weekly gain.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 17 ringgit, or 0.44%, to 3,822 ringgit ($800.59) a metric ton by midday break. The contract has gained 0.34%so far this week.

“Bursa Malaysia palm prices dropped for the second day amid weakness in both Chicago soybean oil and Dalian. Heavy selling activities were seen in the morning with the benchmark May contract opened gap lower,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

The soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DBYcv1 was down 0.52%,while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 fell 1.22%.Meanwhile, soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOc2 were up 0.31%.

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

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-20 were seen falling by 3.4% to 18.3% from the previous month, cargo surveyors data showed.

Tags: prices, Malaysia, soyoil, palm oil, futures, benchmark contract