Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower on Monday, weighed down by lower exports for November 1 to 20 and weaker prices of rival US soyaoil.
The third-month contract on Bursar Malaysia Derivatives, February, ended down 5 ringgit at 1,413 ringgit ($373.91) a tonne, after trading as low as 1,408.
Overall volume was a light 2,619 lots of 25 tonnes each, down from Friday's 4,200 lots. "It was basically a sluggish market because of the export numbers," said a trader.
Society General de Surveillance, a cargo tracker watched closely by the palm oil industry, said on Monday Malaysian exports of oil palm products for November 1-20 are estimated to have fallen 14 percent to 679,348 tonnes from the 789,289 tonnes tracked for October 1-20.
Soyaoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed down 0.03 to 0.17 cent per lb. on Friday. Soyaoil and palm oil compete for exports and their prices often move in step.
Palm oil prices have been soft for more than a week now after volatile swings in soyaoil, and the poor performance of exports following long holidays in November for the Hindu Dowel and Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr festivals.
In physical dealings of crude palm oil on Monday, the November contract saw buyers/sellers at 1,412.50/1,417.50 ringgit a tonne in both southern and central regions.
Trades were reported at 1,415 ringgit in the southern region and 1,415-1,412.50 ringgit in the central region.
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