JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures ended flat on Tuesday after hitting their lowest level in nearly six months earlier in the session, pressured by higher shipments from top exporter Indonesia and worries around slowing demand in key markets.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 4 ringgit, or 0.08%, at 4,985 ringgit ($1,133.99) per tonne, snapping a four-session decline.

The contract had touched an intraday low of 2.4% during the session.

“The (palm oil) contract is having a bear run on the back of renewed China lockdowns, which could lead to lower demand, as well as Indonesia ramping up exports to clear overflow of palm oil reserves,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters.

Indonesia has issued permits to ship more than 1.4 million tonnes of the edible oil as of Monday, to reduce inventories that have prevented refiners from buying more palm fruits from farmers.

Palm oil posts weekly decline of nearly 8% as Indonesia boosts exports

The country also set its July crude palm oil reference price at $1,615.83 per tonne, which would place the export levy and export tax at a maximum $200 per tonne and $288 per tonne, respectively.

Meanwhile, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-20 fell between 10.5% and 17%, compared with a month earlier, according to cargo surveyors.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 3.7%, while its palm oil contract dropped 4.4%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade slid 2%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.