VEGOILS-Palm rises on stronger crude, Chicago soyoil

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher on Thursday, recovering from the previous session's losses, on the back of stronger crude oil prices and Chicago soyoil, though weaker rival Dalians capped the gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 40 ringgit, or 0.84%, to 4,809 ringgit ($1,196.27) a metric ton in early trade.

FUNDAMENTALS

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 0.46%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 shed 0.28%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 gained 1.04%.

Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices climbed more than $4 after President Donald Trump said the United States would continue to attack Iran, including energy and oil targets, over the next few weeks, and did not commit to a specific timeline to end the war. O/R
Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit MYR=, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.1% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Indonesia's palm oil association said biodiesel feedstock demand was expected to reach about 15 million metric tons this year, up 2 million tons from last year, after factoring in the B50 palm oil-based biodiesel programme.

Indonesia exported 4.54 million metric tons of crude and refined palm oil in the first two months of 2026, up 36.26% from the same period a year earlier, the statistics bureau data showed.

Indonesia has set its crude palm oil reference price at $989.63 per ton for April, up from March's $938.87, a Trade Ministry regulation showed.

MARKET NEWS

Stocks fell, the dollar firmed, and oil rose on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington's "core strategic objectives" in the Iran war were nearing completion but stopped short of providing a clear outline of when the conflict would end. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS

1230 US International Trade $ Feb

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 28 Mar w/e

($1 = 4.0200 ringgit)