KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures edged down on Wednesday evening in a second day of falls, tracking weaker related edible oils and on the back of weaker export data from cargo surveyors.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.9 per cent at 2,150 ringgit a tonne at the end of the trading day. The market is currently trading at three-week lows, and shed 1.1pc in October. Trading volumes stood at 28,597 lots of 25 tonnes each at Wednesday’s close of trade. “The market is down on lower export figures,” said a Singapore-based futures trader, referring to shipment data from three cargo surveyors released on Wednesday.

Malaysia’s palm oil exports in October fell 14.1pc versus the previous month, Intertek Testing Services reported. Meanwhile, Societe Generale de Surveillance and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia announced a 12.4pc and 12.9pc decline for the same time period respectively.

Exports typically slow towards the end of the year as key markets such as China have lower temperatures, in which palm oil solidifies, leading to higher purchases of alternative oils that do not freeze as easily.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2018