Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 1 percent on Monday as traders were expecting build up in stockpiles due to sluggish export demand. The palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 1.31 percent at 2,407 ringgit ($606.30) a tonne by the close.
Trading volume stood at 45,918 lots of 25 tonnes. "Demand is not picking up despite the recent correction. Buyers are waiting for a bigger fall," said a Kuala Lumpur-based palm oil trader said.
Malaysia's palm oil exports in May fell 8.8 percent from April to around 1.2 million tonnes, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said on Thursday. Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) said the country's May palm oil exports fell 9.9 percent from a month ago.
In Indonesia, the world's top palm oil exporter, shipments of palm and palm kernel oils fell 13.6 percent in April, data from the Indonesia Palm Oil Association showed. "MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) data could show an expansion in stocks at the end of May," said another Kuala Lumpur-based palm trader said.
The government body could release production, exports and stock numbers for May in next few days.
In related vegetable oils, the Chicago July soyabean oil contract was down 0.22 percent, while September soyabean oil on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.48 percent. Palm oil is affected by movements in rival edible oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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