Palm Oil Trades Lower

Malaysian palm oil futures fell below MYR 4,450 per tonne after slight gains in the prior session, weighed by further losses in rival oils on the Chicago market following a U.S. biofuels proposal that disappointed traders. Sentiment was also cautious amid a shortened trading week and ahead of Malaysia’s August trade data, due in the coming days. Meantime, last week’s industry figures showed end-August stocks rose 4.2% from July to 2.2 million tonnes. Capping further declines, demand from India, the top buyer, is expected to stay strong. The country’s palm oil imports surged 15.8% in August to 990,528 tonnes, the highest in over a year, as attractive pricing against soyoil prompted refiners to stock up ahead of the mid-October festive season. Meanwhile, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India expects purchases to stay above 800,000 tonnes this month. Export estimates were mixed so far, with Intertek reporting shipments up 2.6% for Sept 1–15, while AmSpec said they edged down 0.1%.