JAKARTA, Jan 21: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended 1 per cent lower on Wednesday, extending the previous day’s losses due to concern about falling exports, traders said.

The downside was limited by expectations Malaysian palm oil production is falling, preventing a sharp increase in stocks.

The benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 18 ringgit, or 0.99 per cent, to 1,809 ringgit ($501) a ton, coming off intra-day low of 1,792 ringgit.

Other traded contracts dropped between 16 and 45 ringgit.

Overall volume was at 12,019 lots of 25 tons each.

The supportive factors in the market are probably the production trend is still down and also the weakening ringgit.

That is why the market was unable to break 1,800 ringgit too long, said a trader at Malaysian commodities brokerage.

Palm oil, used in biscuits to biofuels, has climbed 36 per cent from an Oct. 28 low of 1,331 ringgit on falling stocks but has failed to breach the key 2,000 ringgit level due to weaker exports and volatile external markets.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Jan. 1-20 fell 33 per cent to 738,255 tons from 1,098,962 million tons shipped between Dec. 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, refiners in Jakarta sold refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 6,550 rupiah per kg, against 6,750 rupiah per kg on Tuesday.

In the physical market, Malaysian palm oil for January and February deliveries was traded at 1,800-1,820 ringgit per ton in the southern region. No trades were done in the central region.—Reuters