JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil booked a weekly loss on Friday, while the market is expecting the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) data next week.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 16 ringgit, or 0.41%, to close at 3,901 ringgit ($901.34) a metric ton.

The contract has declined 1.91% this week.

“The futures seem to be trading in a 3,850-3,950 ringgit range while waiting for the MPOB report next week,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

The MPOB is scheduled to release its monthly palm oil data on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories are expected to have climbed 7.31% to a six-month high of 1.86 million metric tons at end-August due to lacklustre export demand, a Reuters survey of 14 traders, planters and analysts showed.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.03%, while its palm oil contract was up 0.54%. The Chicago Board of Trade declined 0.39%.

Palm ends higher on muted production expectations

Palm oil tracks price movements in related oils as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Indonesia, the biggest palm oil exporter, plans to lower export duties to improve competitiveness and raise farmers’ income.

The Malaysian ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, gained 0.13% against the dollar. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil less attractive for foreign currency holders.

Oil prices edged up as investors weighed a big U.S. crude inventories withdrawal and a delay to production hikes by OPEC+ producers against mixed U.S. employment data.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.