Palm oil jumps over 2% as rivals rise

December 17, 2021: Malaysian palm oil futures ended four sessions of losses to jump 2.1% on Friday, as it tracked rival oil gains on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, according to Reuters.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 94 ringgit to 4,496 ringgit ($1,068.19) during early trade.

The jump was likely due to costlier rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 2% while its palm oil contract jumped 3.5%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.2%.

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

The contract is, however, set to plunge 6.3% for the week due to weaker-than-expected exports during the first half of December.

Palm oil may gain more into a range of 4,555 ringgit to 4,625 ringgit per tonne as suggested by its wave pattern, Reuters technicals analyst said.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Chicago wheat futures edged higher, building on the previous session's near 2% gains on the back of strong weekly export sales and dry conditions in the U.S. Plains, while corn and soybeans were stuck in a tight range.

* Oil prices dipped on Friday, putting the market on track to end the week roughly unchanged, as surging cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant raised fears new curbs may hit fuel demand, while a weaker dollar supported commodity markets broadly.

Reuters