Malaysian palm oil futures fell nearly 1 percent to their lowest level in two weeks on Monday, recording a third consecutive session of losses, due to weaker exports. The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.8 percent to 2,362 ringgit ($602.55) a tonne at the end of the trading day. It earlier fell to 2,356 ringgit, its weakest level since April 17, and also marked the steepest intraday percentage drop in two weeks.
Palm is also down 2.6 percent for the full month of April, in a second straight month of losses. Trading volumes stood at 33,105 lots of 25 tonnes each at the close.
Traders said the market fell on weaker export figures, referring to shipment data announced by independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia on Monday morning, and by cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance in the evening. "The market may trade listlessly this week with a downside bias," added a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, referring to the market's closure on Tuesday on account of Labour Day. China's palm olein contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is also not trading on Monday and Tuesday due to the holiday.
Malaysian palm oil product exports fell 5.7 percent for the full month of April compared with March, said AmSpec Agri Malaysia.
Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance showed a 4.5 percent decline for the same time period as Indian demand weakened. In other related oils, the Chicago July soyabean oil contract rose 0.1 percent. Palm oil is impacted by movements in rival edible oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Palm oil may revisit its April 17 low of 2,354 ringgit per tonne, as a bounce from this level could have ended around a resistance at 2,434 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals Wang Tao.
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