KUALA LUMPUR, May 20: Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell almost 1 per cent on Friday after friendly export numbers for May 1 to 20 failed to inspire a rally, and losses in rival US soyaoil weighed on the market. Third-month crude palm oil on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, August, ended down 9 ringgit, or 0.6 per cent, at $364.21 a ton.

The benchmark contract had earlier fallen as much as 13 ringgit, or 0.9 per cent, to an intraday low of 1,380. Other traded months for palm oil closed down 7 to 9 ringgit.

Volume totalled 3,266 lots of 25 tons each, compared with Thursday’s 4,746 lots. The market usually sees trade of 6,000 lots or more on a busy day. In Friday’s physical crude palm oil market, contracts for May and June saw bids closing at 1,390 ringgit a ton in Malaysia’s southern region, against offers at 1,390.

The two contracts were bid/ offered at 1,387.50/1,395 ringgit in the country’s central zone. Trades were only reported for May at 1,395 ringgit in the south and 1,387.50-1,390 in the central region. —Reuters