Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended down nearly 1 percent on Thursday, recouping some losses after falling as much as 2.3 percent on worries over slowing overseas demand. The benchmark November crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 20 ringgit, or 0.86 percent, to 2,309 ringgit ($665) tonne, after falling as low as 2,275 ringgit a tonne earlier.
Overall volume reached 8,027 lots of 25 tonnes. "Having fallen for so many days, the market initially got some support to rebound from external factors like stronger crude oil. But overall, the market remains under pressure from slow demand," a trader at a local brokerage said. The trader said failure to cross the 2,400-ringgit resistance level on Wednesday lured some speculators back into the market.
"Today, we cannot even test the previous day's high and the price has already fallen below 2,300 ringgit," the trader said. Given the likelihood of a rise in palm oil production this month and a decline in exports, palm futures may trend lower in the near term, with 2,250 ringgit seen as the support level, the trader added.
INDONESIAN PALM FALLS: In the Indonesian market, palm oil prices lost ground, tracking palm futures in Malaysia. Producers in Medan, North Sumatra - home to Belawan port, Indonesia's key port for palm oil exports - sold crude palm oil at 6,071 rupiah ($0.64) a kg, compared to 6,225 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.
"The price could have been even lower, had the tender been done after the futures dropped below 2,300 ringgit," a trader in Medan said. The state marketing centre in Jakarta sold crude palm oil at 6,128 rupiah a kg, down from 6,235 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.