KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended at a four-month low on Tuesday, pressured by falling exports and a delay in the economic stimulus package amid a political crisis.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed to trade down 4.13 per cent to 2,438 ringgit ($582.38), its lowest since Oct 29.

On Monday, Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad unexpectedly quit as prime minister but was immediately reappointed as interim premier and later disbanded the cabinet, sending local currency, bond and stock markets lower.

The political crisis has delayed the announcement of an economic stimulus to counter the coronavirus impact, from Thursday to a later date, the country’s former finance minister said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Feb 1-25 exports fell between 3pc and 5pc from a month before, according to cargo surveyors on Tuesday. Palm oil exports to the second-largest palm buyer China have lagged due to the fast-spreading coronavirus, sparking demand concerns as global spread of the virus flares up.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2020