KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday, weighed down by a stronger ringgit and a smaller than expected drop in production, but tighter supplies and higher biodiesel mandates in Indonesia and Malaysia supported prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed to trade down 43 ringgit, or 1.4 per cent, to 3,091 ringgit ($761.14).

Palm oil had gained in the last two sessions, touching an intraday high of 3,150 ringgit on Friday, the highest in three years. Palm oil prices came under pressure after Jan 1-10 production estimates by the South Peninsular Palm Oil Millers Association showed a 1.47 per cent decline, compared with an estimated 28.8pc fall for Jan 1-5, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2020