Palm oil futures tumble 10% on cheaper soya bean oil, but prices to stay elevated

Singapore

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) prices slid as much as 10 per cent on Monday after a sell-off in soya bean oil, a close substitute, over the previous two consecutive days.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 5 per cent or RM124 (S$40.03) on Monday morning, before plumbing even lower. By the mid-day break, the contract was quoted at RM3,300, down 9.9 per cent from Friday's close of RM3,663.