KUALA LUMPUR, March 19: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended lower on Wednesday but managed to trim earlier steep losses in late trade with weak demand pushing down vegetable oils across Asia.

The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell as much as 221 ringgit, or 6.4 per cent, to 3,229 ringgit ($1,017) a ton. The contract finished down 120 ringgit at 3,330 ringgit a ton.

Demand is still very slow, there is not much action, said one trader with a foreign brokerage. We are waiting for China’s entry into the market to boost sentiment.

But as of now both India and China seem to be covered. Chicago Board of Trade soyaoil futures fell 1.56 per cent in Asian trade and most contracts on China’s Dalian soyaoil were down.

The price of palm oil, used as cooking oil and in products ranging from biscuits to biofuels, has fallen more than 25 per cent since it hit historic high of 4,486 ringgit a ton earlier this month.

The palm oil market has been hit by lack of buying by China and India, the world’s top edible oil buyers, and by rising palm oil production in Malaysia.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in March 1-15 rose 10 per cent, Intertek Testing Services said on Saturday, significantly less than a jump of 54 per cent reported earlier for March 1-10 by the cargo surveyor.

Malaysian palm oil stocks rose to a record 1.93 million tons at the end of February due to higher production and a decline in exports.

In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for March shipment in the southern region was quoted at 3,320/3,350 ringgit a ton. Trades were done at 3,320 ringgit a ton.

A sharp downturn in Chicago futures has prompted worries over possible cancellations by Chinese buyers of cargoes of soyaoil and palm oil.

They (the Chinese buyers) haven’t started defaulting yet.

They may default if the market goes too low, said an official with a plantation house in eastern Sabah state which exports its palm oil mostly to China.

There is talk of a possible washout if local palm oil prices go too low. (Additional reporting by Niluksi.—Reuters