KUALA LUMPUR, May 8: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed mostly lower on Tuesday as players booked profit ahead of key April data on exports and production due later this week.

The benchmark third-month July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 7 ringgit at 2,238 ringgit ($657) a ton.

It is just profit-taking because everyone wants to know the numbers before making the next move, said one dealer.

The market has gained around 13 per cent this year after surging 40 per cent in 2006 on demand from the biodiesel and food sectors.

Other traded contracts finished down between 18 and 23 ringgit, except for near-month June, which was up 12 ringgit. Overall volume stood at 10,760 lots of 25 tons each.

The near-month contracts are still up because there is tightness in supplies and there is good export demand in the physical market, said another dealer.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in April rose 15 per cent to 1,139,535 tons from 991,550 tons shipped in March, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports during the period rose 13.3 per cent to 1,131,100 tons from 998,759 tons tons shipped in March.

Cargo surveyors will announce May 1-10 export numbers on Thursday. On the same day the state-run Malaysian palm Oil Board will unveil April export, stocks and output numbers.

In the physical market, crude palm oil for May shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,395/2,400 ringgit a ton.

Deals were done between 2,390 and 2,400 ringgit.—Reuters