KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures slid on Thursday, set for their first monthly decline this year, as a drop in oil prices weighed on prices amid investors eyeing March export data from cargo surveyors.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 91 ringgit, or 1.53%, to 5,839 ringgit ($1,389.41) a tonne by the midday break, down for a second straight session.

For the month, the contract is down 7.3% so far.

Oil futures dropped more than $5 a barrel on reports that the Biden administration is weighing releasing some one million barrels of oil per day from strategic reserves for several months in a bid to calm soaring crude prices.

Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Traders are also awaiting cargo surveyors to release export shipment data for March.

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Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract gained 0.7%, while its palm oil contract fell 0.4%.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.2%. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

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