KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28: Malaysian crude palm oil futures dived to a two-month low on Monday, breaking key support as the market tracked a slump in fall in US soyaoil. The third-month contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, February, ended down 19 ringgit, or 1.4 per cent, at 1,399 ringgit ($370.15) a ton, just below 1,400 support.

Its low for the day was 1,396 ringgit — a level last seen on Sept. 19.

But dealers expected the market to rebound above 1,400 before the week was through.

It’s a CBOT-driven liquidation, nothing more than that, said a trader.

I wouldn’t say our fundamentals are pretty, but they are enough to support us at 1,400, unless of course the CBOT takes a bigger hammering in the next few days,” he added.

Soyaoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell sharply on Friday, trailing a nine-month low in soybeans as the market reopened from a Thanksgiving holiday.

At Friday’ close, CBOT’s December soyaoil was down 0.50 cent a lb to 21.13 cents. It lost another 0.33 cent in Monday’s electronic trade, conducted during day hours in Asia.

Palm oil futures had come close to breaking 1,400 ringgit on a couple of occasions this month as long holidays led to thinner exports.

Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), the market’s main exports surveyor, estimated last week a 21 per cent drop in Nov. 1-25 shipments compared with figures tracked for Oct. 1-25.

SGS is scheduled to release on Wednesday estimates for the whole of November.

In Monday’s futures market, other traded months for palm oil settled down 17 to 22 ringgit.

Overall volume stood at 6,801 lots of 25 tons each, almost double Friday’s tally of 3,905 lots.

In the physical crude palm oil market, the combined contract for November and December saw bids at 1,405 ringgit a ton and offers at 1,410 ringgit in the southern and central regions of Malaysia.

Bids/offers closed at 1,420/1,425 on Friday.

Monday’s trades were done at 1,410-1,405 ringgit. —Reuters