KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose after the ringgit slumped to a four-year low and on expectations of a drop in output of the commodity in the No.2 producer this month.
Prices ended higher after a poll conducted by palm traders showed that output from Nov. 1-10 at plantations in Malaysia was down by about 5-10 percent from a month earlier, a dealer with a local commodities brokerage said.
The Malaysian ringgit lost as much as 0.5 percent to 3.3470 per dollar, its weakest since May 2010.
The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.2 percent to 2,262 ringgit ($676) per tonne by Tuesday’s close.
Traded volume stood at 37,339 lots of 25 tonnes, above the usual 35,000 lots.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Association said that Indonesian palm output will grow by just over 3 percent in 2015, less than half the 7 percent growth rate this year, after prolonged drought in the main growing region of Sumatra.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board data showed October palm oil stocks rose to a 20-month high of 2.17 million tonnes, slightly above the 2.16 million tonnes estimated.
A much-watched US Department of Agriculture report saw the US soybean crop at a record 3.958 billion bushels, up less than 1 percent from October and just below trade forecasts averaging 3.967 billion.
Brent crude was trading below $82 per barrel on Tuesday after hitting a four-year low, as a firm dollar and robust production from US shale oilfields outweighed a drop in Libyan output.
In other markets, the US soyoil contract for December was up 0.4 percent in late Asian trade, while the most-active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange shed 0.3 percent.
