KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Friday and logged its second weekly loss, as tepid January exports data so far and weak prices of rival soyaaoil weighed on sentiment. The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 5 ringgit, or 0.15%, to 3,279 ringgit ($811.33) a tonne, after declining 1.8% during the session.

Palm futures slumped 4.2% for the week, adding to the previous session’s deep losses, after cargo surveyors reported a 43% slump in Jan. 1-20 exports from the same period last month.

“Disappointing Malaysian export figures are still lingering in the market, offsetting worries of supply disruption due to heavy rain and floods,” a Singapore-based trader said.

“The market is expected to remain on a downtrend until we see an improvement in demand from big buyers such as China and India,” he added.

Portions of plantations are “under water” as heavy rains and floods disrupt harvesting and crop-evacuation activities, leading to crop losses, planters based in Malaysia’s biggest palm-producing states of Sabah and Sarawak said.

Dalian’s most-active soyaaoil contract fell 0.6%, while its palm oil contract slipped 1.2%.