Palm oil falls on sluggish demand
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 23 ringgit, or 0.54%, to 4,267 ringgit ($1,009.46) a metric ton at the close. The contract rose 2.46% on Tuesday.
'Destination demand remains fragmented at the moment, which could result in further downward pressure on palm oil prices going forward,' said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group.
However, a bullish momentum in Dalian soyoil and rapeseed oil due to a slower crush is helping offset some bearish sentiments, thus preventing a larger decline, he said.
Dalian's most active soyoil contract rose 1.35%, while its palm oil contract added 0.27%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.8%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices climbed, rebounding from a five-week low the previous day, as traders focused on US President Donald Trump threatening India with higher tariffs over its Russian crude purchases and a larger-than-expected US crude draw.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.05% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
European Union's soybean imports for the 2025/26 season that began in July had reached 0.97 million metric tons by August 3, down 26% from the same period a year earlier, European Commission data showed. Palm oil imports were at 0.16 million tons, down 56%.
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