Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower on Thursday, pressured by weakness in rival Chicago soyaoil.
The benchmark third-month contract on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, May, ended down 38 at 1,929 ringgit ($507.63) a tonne, off an intraday low of 1,922.
Other traded contracts fell between 30 and 35 ringgit.
Overall market volume stood at 7,593 lots, up from Wednesday's 7,237 lots.
"We're vulnerable to any sell-down in soyaoil now because that's what brought us up in the first place," said a futures dealer in Kuala Lumpur.
Soyoil and palm oil compete for the same export markets and their prices often move in step.
Nearby March soyaoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended down 0.27 cent per lb on Wednesday, and fell another 0.38 cent in Asian screen trade on Thursday.
Traders said good export performance in February could limit further losses in palm oil.
The market's main cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), said on Wednesday Malaysian palm oil exports for February 1-25 stood at 788,606 tonnes, up from the 734,063 tonnes estimated for January 1-25.
Dealers had been expecting a jump of between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes at the most.
In physical trading of CPO, both February and March saw bids/offers at 1,950/1,960 ringgit a tonne in the southern and central regions, versus Wednesday's closing quotes of 1,975/1,985.
Trade was reported at 1,970-1,960 ringgit.
PALM OIL FUTURES:
February (south): 1960.
Open/High/Low: 1953/1954/1922.
Previous close: 1985.
PALM OIL PHYSICALS: May (3rd month): 1929.
Previous settlement: 1967.
FUTURES: Benchmark third-month May down 38 ringgit to 1,929 ringgit ($507.63) a tonne.
PHYSICALS: Lower.
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