Mumbai, 5 April(Commoditiescontrol): Malaysian palm oil futures settled down on Friday but posted weekly gains.Traders awaited March inventory data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) which is expected to be released on April 15.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) Exchange ended 55 ringgit or 1.25%down at 4,345 ringgit ($915.70) a metric ton.
For the week, however, it gained 3.60%, its best week in three.
"Futures are consolidating while waiting for the monthly MPOB data," a trader said.
Malaysia's palm oil inventories are expected to decline 6.65% from the prior month to an eight-month low of 1.79 million tons at the end of March, as per a survey.
The MPOB is scheduled to release the data on April 15.
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange is closed on Thursday and Friday for the Qingming festival. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade edged up 0.18%.
Soybeans dropped on Thursday following lower-than-expected weekly export sales data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seasonally rising supplies from the South American harvest and falling soyoil prices.
India's rapeseed and mustard output is likely to rise 7% from last year to a record 12.09 million metric tons in 2024. Hence, Indian buyer may lower their importers of edible oil, as per the market analyst.