KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16: Malaysian crude palm futures tumbled on Friday as financial players scrambled to book profits following comments from country’s commodities minister that demand was being hurt by soaring prices.

Overnight weakness in crude and soyaoil markets also pulled the market past 2,900 ringgit resistance level, traders said.

But by the end of the session, the benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 34 ringgit at 2,904 ringgit ($860). The market is now 3.6 per cent off record peaks hit last week.

The market is getting ready for that huge correction, the commodities minister has got the ball rolling, a dealer with foreign trading firm said.

All those comments on delaying palm diesel production at home and weaker external demand do not bode well at all. Other traded months fell between 27 and 43 ringgit. Overall trade stood at 12,362 lots of 25 tonnes each.

Soaring palm oil prices are threatening global demand and have forced the Malaysian government to indefinitely delay its ambitious plan to launch palm-blended diesel at home, the commodities minister said on Friday.

The palm oil market has not yet reached its peak, he told Reuters in an interview. “The next big pull in the market will come from Chinese New Year demand. Oil edged higher near $94 a barrel on Friday, rebounding from losses the previous session after a surprise build in weekly US crude stocks.

Palm oil is still up more than 46 per cent this year and demand from the food and biodiesel sectors have not quite eroded yet.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for November 1-15 rose 2.4 per cent to 687,539 tonnes from 671,741 tons shipped between October 1 and 15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Thursday.

Another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance said exports for the same period fell 1.3 per cent to 670,772 tons. In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for November shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,915/2,925 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 2,910 and 2,915 ringgit.—Reuters