KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures on Tuesday hit their lowest in five weeks, and were headed for a fourth session of declines, as they tracked a subdued soybean market after the Lunar New Year holidays.

Benchmark palm oil futures for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 1.3 per cent lower at 3,033 ringgit ($684.96) a tonne. Earlier in the session, they touched 3,015 ringgit, their lowest since Dec 23, 2016.

The benchmark lost 2.6pc in January. The market, which was closed since mid-day Friday for Lunar New Year celebrations, resumed trading on Tuesday.

Traded volumes stood at 44,006 lots of 25 tonnes each at Tuesday’s close.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2017