KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by a forecast for higher end-July inventories and tracking losses in rival Dalian edible oils.

The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 46 ringgit, or 1.19%, to 3,818 ringgit ($855.12) a tonne.

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories at end-July likely jumped 8.3% from the month before to 1.79 million tonnes, its highest in eight months, according to a Reuters poll.

Production was pegged to rise 2% to 1.58 million tonnes, while exports likely gained 2.2% to 1.22 million tonnes.

In top producer Indonesia, a significantly lower export tax is likely to boost the country’s shipments in August as buyers take advantage, which in turn may hurt demand for Malaysian palm oil, Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CGS-CIMB Research, said in a note.

Palm oil ends 5% lower as Indonesia ease domestic sales rule

Meanwhile, the first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port in wartime passed through the Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday en route to Lebanon for a delivery that foreign powers hope will be the first of many to help ease a global food crisis.

The shipment raises hopes for better Black Sea supplies, Refinitiv Commodities Research said in a note late on Wednesday. The Black Sea region accounts for 60% of world sunflower oil output and 76% of exports.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 3.8%, while its palm oil contract slipped 3.2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.9%.