JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures were largely unchanged by on Monday, after falling to 4,438 ringgit in early trade on easing oil prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was flat at 4,475 ringgit (US$1,106.03) a tonne by the midday break.

“The futures were seen trading sideways after opening gap lower following a selloff in energy prices, Chicago soyoil and Chinese vegetable oil futures in today’s Asian hours,” Anilkumar Bagani, head of research at Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.44 per cent, while its palm oil contract shed 1.51 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.97 per cent.

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

Oil prices slipped to their lowest since March on Monday after US President Donald Trump and Iran’s deputy foreign minister said they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

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

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.25 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Malaysia has lowered its July crude palm oil reference price to a level that maintains the export duty at 10 per cent, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Monday.

India’s palm oil imports edged up in May, rebounding from a four-month low, but remained below normal levels as refiners increased purchases of cheaper soyoil after palm oil’s price advantage narrowed, a leading industry body said on Friday.

Palm oil may break support at 4,444 ringgit per metric ton, after a weak bounce toward 4,496 ringgit, according to Reuters’ technical analyst Wang Tao.

Source : NST