Palm edges lower on dim exports outlook, profit-taking

• Malaysia's November palm oil exports are seen down 7.4% from a month earlier.
• Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
• Palm oil may break a support at 2,713 ringgit per tonne, and fall towards the next support at 2,666 ringgit.

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower on Monday, slipping from a two-year high hit in the previous session, as lacklustre export data clouded outlook and traders locked in gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.4pc lower at 2,733 ringgit ($655.40) per tonne, after rising as much as 2,744 ringgit in the previous session on Indonesia's decision to cut fossil fuel consumption.

"There was some technical correction due to overbuying in the previous session and weak exports weighed on prices," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Malaysia's November palm oil exports are seen down 7.4% from a month earlier, cargo surveyor Amspec Malaysia said on Saturday.

Limiting losses were higher rival oils on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Dalian Commodities Exchange.

Dalian's January palmoil contract was up 0.3% while the soyoil contract on the CBOT traded 0.2% higher. Dalian's January soyoil contract however, fell 0.9%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil may break a support at 2,713 ringgit per tonne, and fall towards the next support at 2,666 ringgit, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao.