BANGKOK, Aug 24: Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell almost 1 per cent on long liquidation on Wednesday, dealers said. The third-month October crude palm oil contract ended 13 ringgit lower at 1,377 ringgit a ton ($367.2) on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives.

The day’s high was 1,392 ringgit and the low was 1,377.

Other traded months settled 9-12 ringgit down.

Overall volume was 3,219 lots of 25 tons, up from 2,789 lots on Tuesday. The market typically sees 6,000 lots or more on a busy day.

There was liquidation going on in the market, especially in the last hour and a half, said one dealer.

There was a bit of concern about the Indonesian rupiah. It weakened a lot today, making Indonesian palm oil cheaper and more competitive.

Malaysia is the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter, while Indonesia ranks second.

The rupiah extended a two-week slide to hit 10,300 to the dollar, its lowest since February 2002 and marking one of its biggest single-day drops since May last year.

The Malaysian market could move in a narrow range when it opens on Thursday ahead of export data, dealers said, pegging the next viable support at 1,370 ringgit, with resistance at 1,395 ringgit.

Dealers are waiting for the export estimates for August 1 to 25 from cargo surveyors SGS and ITS on Thursday. SGS, whose numbers are more closely watched by the market, put exports at 824,241 tons during the first 25 days of July.

—Reuters