KUALA LUMPUR, July 23: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed 1 per cent lower on Monday, dragged down by lower prices of rival soyabean oil and declining exports. The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 26 ringgit, or 1.04 per cent, at 2,480 ringgit ($728) a ton.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for July 1-20 fell 2.6 per cent to 644,332 tons, from 661,626 tons shipped between June 1, and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports fell 5.5 per cent to 638,163 tons over the same period.

Industry officials previously said palm oil demand would pick up from July as buyers locked in supplies for a slew of festivals such as the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival and the Muslim holy month of Ramazan, both in September.

But traders now say high prices could push consumers to delay purchases until the end of July.

Palm oil is more than 10 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in June.

Other traded months fell between 19 and 62 ringgit.

Overall trades were down to 5,854 lots of 25 tons each, almost half of what changes hands on a routine day.

Malaysian palm oil usually takes its cue from the US soyaoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from biscuits and cosmetics to biodiesel.

In the physical market, crude palm oil for July shipment in Malaysia's southern region was quoted at 2,610/2,620 ringgit a ton.—Reuters