KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11: Malaysia’s palm oil futures closed unchanged on Tuesday after a choppy trading, which saw renewed speculative buying lifting prices from early lows, traders said.

The benchmark third-month April contract was unchanged at 1,600 ringgit a ton after trading as low as 1,589 ringgit. The contract had touched a high of 1,611 ringgit.

Volume was heavy at 5,041 lots.

“Refiners were still active in the market, pushing up prices,” said one dealer.

“I think people believe sentiment is not that bad because local production will be down in coming months,” he said.

Some traders said falling output and stocks may support Malaysia’s palm oil futures in the first quarter and help prices hover above 1,600 ringgit despite slow consumer demand.

The market will be closed on Wednesday for Eid-ul-Azha holiday. Trading resumes on Thursday, when the official Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will release January output, end-month stocks and exports data.

In his final estimates issued on Tuesday, private forecaster Ivan Wong said Malaysia’s palm oil output in January was estimated at 845,000 tons, down 8.4 per cent from December.

Wong put end-January stocks at 1.12 million tons, compared with the official 1.14 million tons at end-December. Exports in January were estimated at 780,000 tons, compared with the official figure of 940,584 tons for December.

In the physical sector, the February/March crude palm oil contract was offered at 1,615 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,605 ringgit for southern and central regions.

Deals were reported at 1,610 to 1,615 ringgit a ton for February/March (south) and at 1,607.50 to 1,612.50 ringgit for February (central).—Reuters