KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8: Malaysian crude palm oil market lost ground in late trade on Friday, bowing to pressure from declines in soy futures and profit taking ahead of the release of fresh exports data, traders said.

The benchmark third-month January futures contract ended down 21 ringgit at 1,566 ringgit ($412.11) a ton after trading as high as 1,585 ringgit.

Overall volume was heavy at 5,324 lots.

In Alliance/CBOT/Eurex (A/C/E) trading, nearby November soybeans were down one cent per bushel at $5.73.

Some traders said exports may only reach between 200,000 and 250,000 tons in November 1-10, down from 318,407 tons in October 1-10 as reported by cargo surveyor SGS, because buyers had shunned the market, waiting for prices to fall.

SGS and another surveyor ITS are scheduled to release the exports data for the first 10 days of November next Monday. Some traders said buyers could return to the market if exports did fall in November 1-10 as sellers would have little choice but to cut down prices in order to attract consumers.

Also on Monday, private forecaster Ivan Wong will release his latest October crop estimates. The official figures will be released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) on the following day.

On the physical market, crude palm oil for November saw bids at 1,570 ringgit a ton against sellers’ offers of 1,580 ringgit for southern and central regions.

Deals were reported at 1,570 to 1,572.50 ringgit a ton for south and at 1,565 to 1,570 ringgit for central.

December crude palm oil was offered at 1,580 ringgit against bids of 1,575 ringgit. There were no deals.

People were not so keen to do business this afternoon. They preferred to stay on the sidelines and waited for next week’s data to give them fresh leads, said one physical trader.

Crude palm oil (CPO) prices on Malaysia’s Derivatives Exchange could get choppy after rising 0.8 per cent this wwill perform as it heads towards the year’s end, said a dealer with a local brokerage.

It could get a little choppy and prices may just run up and down, he said.

Other dealers said there is an expectation CPO prices will firm further after news Indonesia may raise CPO export duties to curb exports.

Investors are reacting positively as this piece of news further underscores optimism on the prospects of CPO prices, he added.

In the futures market, the November contract rose 13 ringgit over the week to settle at 1,557 ringgit a ton. The December contract was up four ringgit to 1,565 ringgit a ton while January contract rose two ringgit to settle at 1,566 ringgit a tonne.

The average daily price for November contract was 1,556.6 ringgit a ton.—Reuters/AFP