KUALA LUMPUR, March 27: Malaysia's crude palm oil futures ended mixed on Tuesday in dull trade as players awaited new leads.

The benchmark third-month June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended eight ringgit up at 2,003 ringgit ($581) a ton.

Other traded contracts were 3 ringgit down to 12 ringgit up, with nearby months finishing higher. Overall volume was 4,093 lots of 25 tons each.

The market was marginally higher from yesterday, despite directionless trade. There was some short covering from refiners as supply was stagnant, one dealer said.

The June contract hit an intraday high of 2,030 ringgit a ton on Monday, its best level since Dec. 29 on gains in US soya and surging crude oil.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for March 1-25 fell 0.9 per cent to 719,482 tons from 726,152 tons shipped between February 1-25.

Malaysian palm oil prices soared 40 per cent last year on the back of biodiesel demand and the market is still holding on to strong gains despite a sell-off of risky assets around the globe.

Malaysia's main palm oil agency has leased out three biodiesel plants to palm oil firms to help jump-start the country's fledgling biofuel sector, its chief said on Tuesday.—Reuters