KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures firmed on Friday, but they are on course for a near 6% weekly loss on anticipation of a sharp decline in August exports and cheaper Dalian oils.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 18 ringgit, or 0.42%, to 4,256 ringgit ($1,004.25), after falling to a 10-day low in the previous session.

For the week, it is set to fall 5.7%.

Investors are awaiting cargo surveyors to release Aug. 1-20 export data scheduled later in the day. Market rumours have pegged shipments during that period to decline around 10%, traders said. Dalian's most-active soyaoil contract fell 1%, while its palm oil contract lost 1.2%. Soyaoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.4%.

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 4,221 ringgit per tonne and fall to 4,125 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Asian shares extended losses from the 2021 low set a day earlier, while the dollar held onto its recent gains sitting at a nine-month high.

Oil prices came off three-month lows but were on track for a weekly decline of around 6% as new lockdowns in countries with low vaccination rates facing surging cases of the Delta variant dimmed the outlook for fuel demand.