Palm oil loses on stronger ringgit, rival weakness; ends week down 3%

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Friday, pressured by a stronger ringgit and tracking weakness in rival Dalian edible oils, and booked their first weekly loss in three. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPO1! for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 45 ringgit, or 1.11%, to 4,018 ringgit ($981.68) a metric ton at the close, its lowest closing since November 25. The contract declined 3.23% this week. “Weakness of rival oils, coupled with a stronger ringgit, pressured palm prices today,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader. The Dalian Commodity Exchange’s most-active soyoil contract (DBYcv1) dropped 0.5%, while its palm oil contract CPO1! declined 1.27%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade ZL1! slipped 0.35%. Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. China’s state stockpiler Sinograin sold most of the soybeans it offered in an auction of state reserves, two traders said on ...