KUALA LUMPUR, March22: Malaysian palm oil futures closed marginally lower on Thursday as the ringgit currency gained against the dollar and rival soybean oil declined in the United States market.

The benchmark third-month June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 4 ringgit at 1,971 ringgit ($569) per ton.

The market is still down as the ringgit appreciated, said one dealer. But it has cut some losses since this morning because production is not expected to rise in March. The June contract was down 10 ringgit by the midday break.

Other traded months were either marginally up or down in overall volume of 6,305 lots of 25 tons each.

The market rose 1.2 per cent on Monday on hopes of better exports but was off an eight-year high of 2,062 ringgit reached in December when floods disrupted deliveries.

Malaysia's ringgit hit a nine-year high at 3.4570 per dollar after the central bank governor expressed support for a stronger currency on Wednesday.

A stronger ringgit against the dollar makes a ringgit-based commodity more expensive for overseas buyers.

In electronic trade during Asian hours on Thursday, the May contract was down 0.01 cent to 31.09 cents.

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

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-20 rose 0.8 per cent to 617,142 tons from 612,057 tons shipped between February 1-20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.

Palm oil prices are set to jump more than 20 per cent by year-end as global oilseed stocks are depleted and demand from the food and fuel sectors surges, industry officials told an conference in Malaysia last week.

Malaysian palm oil, which gained almost 40 per cent last year, could ease slightly in the near term, but surging Indian food demand and Europe's insatiable appetite for biofuels will ensure the commodity holds on to the gains this year.—Reuters