KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20: Malaysian crude palm oil futures were mostly unmoved on Thursday with the market divided between surging export numbers from cargo surveyors and fears of rising supplies.

But traders said the market would remain firm as prices of rival soyabean oil steadied and crude oil hovered just below record highs in Asian trade.

The most-active December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 2 ringgit at 2,569 ringgit ($746) a ton.

The strong export growth is to be expected, that is why the market did not go crazy, but there is a growing worry that supply is going to shoot up because of the seasonal production increase, said one trader.

Even though palm oil futures are range-trading today, there is no sign of decline as soyaoil and crude oil prices are so strong. Other traded months fell between 2 and 25 ringgit except for the November contract, which marginally rose. Overall volume fell to 6,790 lots of 25 tons each compared to 10,000 lots that change hands on a routine trading day.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for September 1-20 rose 21.8 per cent to 892,172 tons from 732,667 tonnes shipped between Aug. 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Thursday.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance said exports in the same period rose 12.3 per cent to 864,299 tons.

Palm oil, in high demand for making sweetmeats and other delicacies during current festival season in Asia, is around 7 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in June.

Malaysian palm oil output rose 14.83 per cent to 1.6 million tons in August and reserves increased by 10.95 per cent to 1.45 million tons, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended firm on Wednesday, following corn, traders said.—Reuters