KUALA LUMPUR, March 27: Malaysia’s palm oil futures ended lower in choppy trading on Wednesday and technical analysts said the downward pressure was intact as the market lacked fresh leads.

The benchmark third-month June contract was six ringgit lower at 1,131 ringgit ($297.63) a tonne after trading as high as 1,146 ringgit.

June had touched a low of 1,123 ringgit, just above the 1,120 ringgit support level and some analysts said it would take a few days to see whether the market could rebound.

Volume was heavy at 2,345 lots.

The market has formed a temporary bottom at 1,120. The scenario is that the market is technically weak, said one analyst.

You and I know that March exports are going to be better than February. The question is we don’t know whether exports can reach one million tonnes. Most people doubt exports will reach that level, he said.

Some traders have speculated Malaysia’s exports could reach between 950,000 and one million tons this month, up from 663,270 tons in February because of anticipation of better demand from India, China and Pakistan.

Cargo surveyor ITS and SGS are scheduled to release the exports data for the whole of March next week.

The downtrend is not over yet and I am afraid any rebound will not sustain, said Jennifer Ooi, analyst from a trading house in Kuala Lumpur.

The timing is hard to justify (but) the chance for the market to go below 1,100 ringgit is there. From my point of view, technical indicators don’t look good, she said.

In physical palm oil, the March contract for the southern and central regions saw bids at 1,125 ringgit a tonne versus offers at 1,130. Trade was reported at 1,125 for both sides.

The April contract for south and central saw bids at 1,135 ringgit against offers at 1,140. There were no deals.—Reuters