KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12: Malaysian crude palm futures were mostly little changed on Thursday as fears of weakening demand in coming weeks pared earlier gains from falling domestic inventories.

Prices of the vegetable oil, which have collapsed 57 per cent from a record high of 4,486 ringgit hit in March, have failed to breach the 2,000 ringgit level as the global economic recession eats into credit lines.

Benchmark April contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 3 Malaysian ringgit to 1,928 Malaysian ringgit ($534.2) after going as high as 1,945 ringgit.

Keep an eye out for softer Chinese demand continuing after the Lunar New Year and potential crude palm oil import tax hikes after the Indian elections in April, CSLA analyst Chee Wei Loong said in a note.

Malaysian crude palm oil stocks slid for a second consecutive month in January, data showed on Wednesday, but the speed of the decline moderated as a fall in shipments outpaced a decline in production.

In Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, the Jakarta-based state marketing centre said it sold 7,500 tons out of 8,000 tons of palm oil it offered in an auction at a top price of 6,989 rupiah per kg, against 6,966 rupiah per kg on Wednesday.

Producers in Medan -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s main palm oil export port -- sold palm oil at 6,954-6,9633 rupiah per kg. They did not hold a palm oil auction on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 7,500 rupiah per kg, down from 8,000-8,200 rupiah per kg on Wednesday.—Reuters