Palm oil falls

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures erased earlier gains to edge lower on Wednesday, tracking overnight losses in soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade. Losses in the ringgit, the currency of trade for palm oil, might curb declines in the tropical oil, said a trader.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.4 percent to 2,739 ringgit ($649.44) a tonne at the midday break, on track for its third drop in four sessions. Traded volumes stood at 22,474 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon. Palm oil prices fell on Wednesday morning tracking overnight losses in CBOT soyoil, said two futures traders from Kuala Lumpur. "Weakness in the local currency could, however, cushion the selling pressure," added one trader.