KUALA LUMPUR, March 2: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower in thin trade on Friday, dragged down by lower US soyaoil prices, dealers said.

The benchmark third-month May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange finished down 10 ringgit at 1,940 ringgit ($553) a ton.

Soyabean oil came down yesterday, and it is impacting palm oil, said one dealer.

Other contracts were down between 7 and 23 ringgit. Overall volume was down sharply at 5,540 lots of 25 tons each compared with around 12,000 lots on a routine day.

Palm oil often tracks the soybean market because both are used in products ranging from food and cosmetics to biodiesel.

The Chicago Board of Trade soybean market sank on Thursday amid financial worries after China's main stock index closed 3 per cent lower.

Soyaoil was 0.10 to 0.75 cent weaker, with March down 0.75 at 29.50 cents per lb. In Friday's electronic trade during Asian hours, March soyaoil was down 0.11 cent per lb at 29.42 cents.

The state-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board will release February exports, output and stocks data on March 12. On the same day, cargo surveyors will unveil export numbers for March 1 to 10.

In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for March shipment was quoted at 1,935/1,945 ringgit per ton. Trades were done between 1,930 and 1,935 ringgit.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-28 fell 10.1 per cent to 856,192 tons from 952,753 shipped between Jan. 1 and 31, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports during the period fell 10.3 per cent to 858,485 tons.—Reuters