KUALA LUMPUR, May 21: Malaysian crude palm futures closed marginally lower on Monday as export data failed to impress the market and players booked profit.

But losses were limited by rival soybean oil which gained on the Chicago Board of Trade, dealers said. The benchmark August contract finished down 8 ringgit to 2,362 ringgit ($697) a ton, after touching an intra-day low of 2,345 ringgit.

The export data was within expectations but it was nothing significant, one dealer said. Some players are profit-taking because there are no new leads at the moment to keep them interested. Strong soyaoil on Friday has supported the market as well,” another trader said.

The palm oil market has gained more than 18 percent this year after surging 40 percent in 2006 on the back of demand from the biodiesel and food sectors.

Other traded months fell between 6 and 12 ringgit, except for the September contract, which was up 3 ringgit.

Overall volume fell to 8,135 lots of 25 tons from around the 12,000 lots that change hands on a routine day.

On Friday, soyaoil futures at the Chicago Board of Trade made contract highs across the board as funds expanded their net longs amid rising demand for soyaoil to produce biodiesel.

The July contract ended 0.16 cent higher at 35.15 cents per lb, following its rise to a contract high of 35.32 cents.

In electronic trade during Asian hours on Monday, the July contract was 0.13 cent higher at 35.28 cents a lb.

Malaysian palm oil usually follows the US soyaoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from food and cosmetics to biodiesel.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board said April closing stocks fell 11.65 per cent to 1,181,320 tons, the lowest in almost three years.

It said palm oil output in April rose 4.11 per cent, less than expected, and exports showed steady growth of 5.9 per cent.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May 1-20 fell 3.7 per cent to 775,979 tons from 806,154 tons shipped between April 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.—Reuters