Palm oil eases; traders focus on Indonesia's export curbs

January 25, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures dropped on Tuesday, tracking weak performances in rival oils, after the vegetable oil scaled to a record high in the previous session amid talks of export restrictions from top producer Indonesia.

The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.38% at 5,240 ringgit ($1,251.79) a tonne. In the previous session, the contract hit an all-time high of 5,380 ringgit, but shed gains to close 1.18% lower.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Indonesia has asked palm oil exporters to get shipment approvals from the trade ministry. The government is also discussing a plan to limit exports of oil, an industry group said.

* Indonesia's plan to limit palm oil exports is likely to make leading importer India shift to substitute soy and sunflower oils, potentially capping the market's rally, industry officials and analysts said.

* Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, regaining some of the ground lost in the previous day's sharp losses, on concerns over possible supply disruptions amid rising geopolitical tensions in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract and palm oil contract fell 2.26% and 1.63%, respectively, while soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.56%.

* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Palm oil may test a support at 5,174 ringgit per tonne, a break below could open the way towards 5,106 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Reuters