KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed more than 2 per cent lower on Wednesday, dragged down by lower prices for soyaoil and crude oil. Dealers said an improved export performance announced by cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) failed to impress the market.

There was heavy sell off in reaction to soyaoil and crude oil prices, a dealer said.

The benchmark third-month December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange ended down 2.2 per cent or 34 ringgit to 1,528 ringgit a ton ($415) after trading between 1,528 ringgit and 1,556 ringgit.

Other traded contracts finished down between 30 and 39 ringgit. Overall volume stood at 14,775 lots of 25 tons each.

Palm oil futures rose during the last two days with the exports to traditional markets like China, India and the European Union picking up.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for September 1-20 were 856,999 tons, steady from 856,885 tons shipped between August 1-20, ITS said.

Oil prices dropped more than 3 per cent on Tuesday, resuming the steepest slide in more than a decade as high inventories eased supply worries ahead of winter and countered concern over simmering geopolitical tensions.

US light crude settled down $2.14 at $61.66 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest settlement in nearly six months.—Reuters