JAKARTA, Sept 8: Malaysian crude palm oil futures finished little changed on Monday as traders awaited the midweek release of export data, dealers said.

Strong exports could put some pressure on stocks, which would help boost buying interest on palm futures.

The price of palm oil, which is used to make products ranging from soap to biodiesel, has dropped 19.05 per cent so far this year and is 45 per cent below an all-time high of 4,486 ringgit hit in March, due to concerns about a build-up of supplies and news of defaults from key buyers India and China.

Until the release of export data for the first 10 days in September, the market will continue to be flat, said a trader at a local brokerage firm.

Palm futures were traded only in the afternoon session after a computer glitch forced market operator, Bursa Malaysia, to suspend the entire morning session.

The benchmark November crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Excange settled down 1 ringgit, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,469 ringgit ($719) a ton.

The palm price is tracking closely crude oil and soyabeans, and the market is a bit uncertain about the near-term price direction, another trader said.

Contracts for other traded months were mixed. September and October contracts rose by 29 ringgit and 8 ringgit respectively.

Other contracts dropped between 12 and 25 ringgit.

The overall volume reached 8,910 lots of 25 tons each.

In Indonesia, the state marketing centre offered 14,500tons of palm oil at an auction but there was no trade due to low bids.

In Medan, North Sumatra -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s key port for palm oil exports -- there was no trade either, a trader said.

The prices offered were too high while buyers are still expecting further price falls, a trader in Jakarta said.

In Jakarta, the price of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein, which is used in cooking oil, was 6,900 rupiah a kg, down from 6,950 rupiah a kg on Friday.—Reuters