Palm closes lower on Dalian weakness, market awaits further leads in Malaysia

Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses on Monday, mirroring the drop in rival soyoils on the Dalian market, while the market awaited further triggers amid the holiday season. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPO1! for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 72 ringgit, or 1.56%, to 4,552 ringgit ($1,019.48) per metric ton at the close. “Today’s futures will be lacklustre, tracking Dalian while waiting for the holiday season to be over for further leads,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract (DBYcv1) dropped 0.18% while its palm oil contract CPO1! lost 0.34%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade ZL1! slipped 0.13%. Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices edged down on Monday in thin holiday trade ahead of the year-end as traders awaited more Chinese and U.S. economic data later this week to assess growth in the world’s two ...