Palm oil drops on strong ringgit, posts second monthly fall

Malaysian palm oil futures fell and posted a second straight monthly drop on Wednesday despite strong July export as a stronger ringgit weighed down the price.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 6 ringgit, or 0.15%, to 3,909 ringgit ($851.26) a metric ton at closing. The contract is down 0.18% for the month.

Malaysian palm oil exports in July seen rising between 22.8% and 30.91%, cargo surveyor Amspec Agri and Intertek Testing Services said.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) estimated exports stood at 1.48 million tons, according to LSEG, a 23.6% increased compare to June exports.

“Despite good export data from Amspec and ITS for full July month, buying interest is slow as strong ringgit is capping the upside,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Malaysian ringgit, the contract’s currency of trade, strengthened 0.61%. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil less attractive for foreign currency holders.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 was up 0.18%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 slid 0.69%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOc2 gained 0.19%.

Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Meanwhile, European Union’s palm oil import by July 28 stood at 150,000 metric tons, down from 290,000 tons a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed.

The world’s biggest palm oil exporter Indonesia raised its crude palm oil reference price for August to $820.11 per metric ton from $800.75 per ton in July, but will keep the export tax and export levy unchanged.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Eileen Soreng)