Palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia exchange gave up earlier gains and moved lower on Monday October 14, due to profit-taking and losses in rival edible oil markets, Fastmarkets heard. Expectations of a rebound in palm oil production also put pressure on prices.

The benchmark December palm oil futures contract settled at 4,313 Malaysian ringgit ($1,005) per tonne on Monday, down by 37 ringgit per tonne, or 0.9%, from a close of 4,150 ringgit per tonne on October 11.

Typically, palm oil is the cheapest of all the edible oils and is usually priced at a discount of $30-40 per tonne to soybean oil, but it has been trading at a premium since August.

Meanwhile, cash palm oil and products have been holding a sharp price premium to most other vegetable oils and animal fats.

On Monday, Fastmarkets assessed the price of palm oil, RBD, fob US Gulf, at 57.75-58.25 cents per lb, up from 57.50-58.00 cents per lb a week earlier.

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