Palm falls on weakness in rival oils, profit taking
The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid RM22, or 0.54 per cent, to RM4,069 (US$963.08) a metric tonne at the midday break. The contract has risen 1.67 per cent so far this week.
Crude palm oil prices were lower, tracking overnight weakness in soybean oil and Dalian palm olein prices, said David Ng, a proprietary trader at Kuala Lumpur-based trading firm Iceberg X Sdn Bhd.
"Profit-taking activities after the recent price rally also affected the market," he added.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.92 per cent, while its palm oil contract shed 0.45 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.96 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 were little changed as a solid US job market bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates on hold, with investors also awaiting clarity on President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on various countries.
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.12 per cent against the US dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Malaysia's palm oil inventories likely dropped for the first time in four months in June as production fell unexpectedly while export demand remained robust for the tropical oil, a Reuters survey showed.
Palm oil may fall to RM4,047 per tonne as a five-wave cycle from RM3,947 has completed, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
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