KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures dropped more than 3% on Tuesday to their lowest in more than two weeks, dragged by weaker rival oils and waning demand worries.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 158 ringgit, or 3.84%, to 3,960 ringgit ($905.76) a tonne during early trade — its lowest since Dec. 23.

Exports from Malaysia during January 1-10 tumbled by half from the same week in December to 235,529 tonnes, cargo surveyor Amspec Agri said.

Malaysia’s December palm oil end-stocks fell 4.09% from the month before to a four-month low of 2.19 million tonnes, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) data showed.

Production shrank 3.68% to 1.62 million tonnes, while exports ticked down 3.48% to 1.47 million tonnes.

Palm oil reverses early losses on tight supply concerns

MPOB data is slightly supportive since end-stocks are at the lower end of expectations, although exports dropped more than expected, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract eased 1.5%, while its palm oil contract slipped 1.8%.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 1.1%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.