By Mei Mei Chu
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures reversed early gains on Thursday to close lower for a second straight session, ahead of data that is expected to show exports declined in early December.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 66 ringgit, or 1.36%, at 4,775 ringgit ($1,132.86) a tonne. It had gained as much as 1.6% earlier in the session.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and cargo surveyors are scheduled to release supply and demand data on Friday.
“The market is trading in risk off pending World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and MPOB November data,” said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager and broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia’s exports during Dec. 1 to 10 are pegged to fall 10% from the month before, while Indonesia’s November production is seen 2%-3% higher, Cultrera added.
Top producers Indonesia and Malaysia are likely to see heavy rains during January-March 2022, Refinitiv Commodities Research said on Wednesday, raising risks of flooding in plantations and disrupting production during the first quarter of 2022.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 1.8%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 lost 2.3%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 1%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
($1 = 4.2150 ringgit)
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Vinay Dwivedi)
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