Malaysian palm oil futures open higher after India import tax cut

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Thursday, snapping two days of gains, as it tracked weaker crude oil prices and a drop in U.S. soyoil in Chicago

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian benchmark crude palm oil futures opened nearly 1 percent higher on Wednesday, a bullish start to the first day of trading in 2019 after India announced import tax cuts on palm oil from Southeast Asian countries.

India, the world's largest importer of edible oils, announced late on Monday it would lower the duty on crude palm oil to 40 percent from 44 percent, while a tax on refined oils was cut to 50 percent from 54 percent.

Palm oil futures for March delivery were at 2,133 ringgit ($515.22) a tonne at 0241 GMT, up 0.6 percent. ($1 = 4.1400 ringgit) - Reuters