KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25: Malaysian palm oil dived for a second straight day on further liquidation of long positions, and selling by those fearing more competition from Indonesian palm products as the rupiah weakened.

The broader futures market fell 14 to 20 ringgit on Thursday. Volume totalled 5,738 lots of 25 tons each, about 80 per cent than Wednesday’s trade.

November saw an intraday low of 1,363 ringgit a ton. Dealers expected it to find immediate support at between 1,360 and 1,355 ringgit.

August production of palm oil in Malaysia is expected to rise 2.5 per cent over July, helped by steady rains and the dispersion of a smog from Indonesian forest fires that briefly hit output, said analysts from five plantations involved in the survey.

Dealers had initially thought production would drop three to five per cent in August after the haze enveloped large parts of central Malaysia, forcing the government to declare a brief emergency that stopped or slowed work at plantations.—Reuters