Malaysian palm oil futures fell for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, dropping to a more than four-month low after weak Chinese edible oil markets and a stronger ringgit triggered technical selling. The benchmark August contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid to 2,492 ringgit in early trade, a January 15 low, before settling at 2,505 ringgit ($780) per tonne by Wednesday's close, down 0.8 percent.
Total traded volume stood at 36,314 lots of 25 tonnes, higher than the average 35,000 lots. "The market is a bit depressed. Palm is taking cues from weak external edible oil markets rather than its own export figures," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange fell 0.8 percent in late Asian trade. September palm oil was also down 0.8 percent. The US soyoil contract for July lost 0.1 percent.
Technicals showed palm oil was expected to fall more to 2,472 ringgit per tonne, as support at 2,513 ringgit may not hold, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Traders said palm prices slid to four-month lows after a "stop-loss order" was triggered, but later recovered as lower prices attracted bargain hunting. "The market recovered after selling pressure exhausted below 2,500 ringgit," said another Malaysia-based trader. "Buyers took this opportunity as prices were looking relatively cheap to satisfy festive demand." Exports of Malaysian palm oil products have rebounded 19 percent between May 1-20 compared with the same period a month earlier, cargo surveyor data show, as buyers in India, Pakistan and the Middle East replenish stocks of the tropical commodity ahead of a Muslim festival.
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