KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures reversed early losses on Wednesday to end higher for a second session, although sluggish export shipments and poor demand weighed on prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 9 ringgit, or 0.26%, to 3,430 ringgit ($770.79) a tonne. The contract had earlier fell 2.3%.

Palm is facing pressure from external markets and tracking losses in rival soyoil, said Mitesh Saiya, trading manager at Mumbai-based trading firm Kantilal Laxmichand & Co.

In top buyer India, demand is still not picking up as prices of rival oils, including local oils such as rice bran oil, are competitive compared with palm, he added.

India’s palm oil imports in April fell 30% from a month earlier to hit a 14-month low, as its premium over rival soft oils prompted price-sensitive buyers to shift to sunflower oil and soyoil, five dealers said.

Malaysia’s palm oil exports for April were down 18% from the previous month, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday. Another cargo surveyor, AmSpec Agri Malaysia, recorded a 21% decline in shipments.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.5%. The Dalian exchange was closed for a public holiday.

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