KUALA LUMPUR, March 2: Malaysian palm oil fell more than half a per cent on Thursday, slipping below the crucial level of 1,500 ringgit, as a softer trend in soyaoil and light profit-taking weighed on prices.
The benchmark third-month May crude palm oil futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives settled down 0.67 per cent, or 10 ringgit, at the day’s low of 1,490 ringgit ($401.80) a ton.
On Monday, it breached the 1,500-ringgit resistance, a feat last managed on March 16, 2005. Dealers had since pegged its next target at 1,520.
Trade for the day totalled 4,973 lots of 25 tons each, less than half of Wednesday’s volume of 11,571 lots.
There wasn’t any supportive news, said a trader. Maybe things will pick up again next week ahead of the numbers that are coming, he said, referring to the scheduled release of export estimates for March 1-10 and official supply/demand data for February, all due next Friday.
In physical trade of crude palm oil, buyers/sellers for March stood at 1,450/1,460 ringgit a ton in Malaysia’s southern and central regions. Trades closed at 1,460-1,455 ringgit.—Reuters
