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KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures extended falls on Thursday to their lowest in more than five months, tracking losses in rival edible oils and crude oil and as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s comments.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 42 ringgit, or 1.15%, to 3,622 ringgit ($818.53) a tonne in early trade, hitting its lowest since Oct. 14.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Oil prices fell after Fed Chair Jerome Powell re-stated his commitment to curbing inflation, including the possibility of more interest rate rises. Lower crude oil prices make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. O/R
* Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 1.7%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 eased 2.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.2%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Palm oil may test a support at 3,615 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could open the way towards 3,494-3,569 ringgit range, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares inched higher after the Fed hinted it could pause interest rate hikes following turmoil in the banking sector, though it also reiterated its commitment to fighting sticky inflation. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1200 UK BOE Bank Rate March
1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1400 US New Home Sales-Units Feb
1500 EU Consumer Confid, Flash March
($1 = 4.4250 ringgit)
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((Meifong.chu@thomsonreuters.com))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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