Malaysian palm oil futures opened higher for the second straight session on Thursday on stronger Chicago soyoil and crude oil prices.
The benchmark palm oil contract 
FCPO1! for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 29 ringgit, or 0.73%, to 3,995 ringgit ($977.01) a metric ton in early trade.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract (DBYcv1) fell 0.23%, while its palm oil contract CPO1! added 0.98%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade 
ZL1! were up 0.31%.
* Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
* Oil prices were up nearly a dollar in Asian trade after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a blockade on tankers entering and leaving Venezuela and most exports from the country remained on hold. O/R
* Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
* The ringgit 
USDMYR, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.07% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
* Malaysia has lowered its January 2026 crude palm oil reference price to a level that lowers the export duty to 9.5%, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares fell on Thursday as the tech sector took a beating on renewed angst about AI spending, while investors braced for a wave of central bank meetings set to underscore policy divergence worldwide. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS
0745 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall Dec
1200 UK BOE Bank Rate Dec
1315 EU ECB Refinancing, Deposit Rate Dec
1330 US Core CPI MM SA, YY NSA Nov
1330 US CPI MM SA, YY NSA Nov
1330 US CPI Wage Earner Nov
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm 13 Dec, w/e
1330 US Philly Fed Business Indx Dec
($1 = 4.0890 ringgit)