Palm plunges 7% as rival Dalian oils weaken

 March 14, 2022: Malaysian palm oil futures slumped 7% on Monday, extending losses to a third session, as rival Dalian oils and crude futures dropped and inventors booked profits after a recent rally.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 472 ringgit, or 7.04%, to 6,235 ringgit ($1,482.93) a tonne in early trade.

The contract had gained 6.9% last week, its third in a row.

FUNDAMENTALS

Argentina has halted registration of export sales of soy oil and meal, the South American country's government said on Sunday, a move which comes ahead of the 2021/22 harvest starting within weeks. 

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 1.3%. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 2.3%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 plunged 6.1%.

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

Oil prices extended last week's decline to fall by about $4 a barrel during early trade after a U.S. official said Russia was showing signs it might be willing to have substantive negotiations over Ukraine.

Weaker crude futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Malaysia's palm oil inventories at the end of February were down much less than market expectations, while exports declined, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said on Thursday. 

Palm oil may open flat on Monday and stabilise around support of 6,696 ringgit per tonne, as suggested by a contracting wedge, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

MARKET NEWS

Most share markets firmed and oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, while bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week.

Reuters