JAKARTA, Feb 17 : Malaysian crude palm oil futures dropped for the second day in a row on Tuesday, to finish at a one-week low amid concerns over weaker exports, traders said.

I think the market is expecting the end stocks this month could rebuild above the January figure because of slow exports, unless production drop sharply,” a trader at a Malaysian commodities brokerage said.

The benchmark May contract fell 27 ringgit, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,895 ringgit ($521) per ton, the lowest level since February 10.

Other traded contracts were mostly lower, falling between 6 and 30 ringgit. Overall volume was 21,477 lots of 25 tons each.

Prices of the tropical oil have been steadily climbing from the October 28 low of 1,331 ringgit, but have failed to hold above the key resistance level of 2,000 ringgit amid concerns over prospects for demand.

The most active May soyoil contract on China’s Dalian exchange was also down 0.8 per cent.

In Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, the Jakarta-based state marketing centre sold 6,000 tons out of 8,000 tonnes of palm oil it offered in an auction at a top price of 7,038 rupiah ($0.594) per kg, against 7,171 rupiah ($0.609) per kg on Monday.

Producers in Medan, which is home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s main palm oil export port, sold palm oil at 7,030 rupiah per kg. They did not hold a palm oil tender on Monday.

Refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 7,400 rupiah per kg, against 7,500 rupiah per kg on Monday.—Reuters