MDEX: Palm oil closes sharply lower on Thursday.

The May contract of palm oil closed the session this Thursday (23) with a sharp drop of 1.24% in Malaysian Derivatives Exchange (MDEX)The price for the Brazilian crude oil futures contract is quoted at US$1,136.25/ton. The June contract fell 1.29% to US$1,148/ton. On the other hand, so far this week, futures have accumulated gains of 2.48% and 2.68%, respectively. 

In this trading session, commodity prices were pressured by a technical profit-taking movement, after registering consecutive robust gains in previous sessions. 

Furthermore, prices were affected by the negative yield of palm oil in Dalian Exchange (DCE), which registered stability with a downward bias (-0.05%). On the other hand, soybean oil advanced 0.09% in the Chinese index. 

By limiting further losses, the Indonesia will increase mandatory blending of biodiesel based on palm oil from 40% to 50% on July 1st, as part of the government's strategy to reduce dependence on fuel imports. 

Furthermore, the Malaysian ringgit It fell 0.3% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for foreign buyers.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.