JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures recovered from early losses on Monday to close higher for a second straight session, as stronger US soyoil lent support amid disappointing export data.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.31% to close at 3,878 ringgit per tonne, after declining as much as 2.33% earlier in the day. It had gained 4.6% on Friday.

The recovery was triggered by higher soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade, a trader in Kuala Lumpur said.

CBOT soyoil prices rose 0.8%. Meanwhile, Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract was down 1.26%, while its palm oil contract traded 0.84% higher.

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

Meanwhile, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct. 1-15 fell 4% from the same period in September, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) said on Saturday, while independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported a 1.9% increase.

Indonesia has set the crude palm oil reference price for Oct. 16-31 at $713.89 per tonne, a Trade Ministry document distributed on Saturday showed, putting export tax at $3 per tonne, down from $33 imposed on the previous reference price.

The lower export tax by top palm oil producer Indonesia could make Malaysian palm oil less attractive, the trader said.