JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures were down on Monday, after posting a weekly gain last week, as subdued exports data weighed on the contract.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.21% at 3,845 ringgit ($805.24) per metric ton by the midday break. The contract gained 1.1% last week.

“Malaysia Feb. 1-25 exports are down 11% to the same period under review. With palm olein continuing to be at a premium to soybean oil for over a month now, palm export prospects are dim,” said Sathia Varqa, a senior analyst at Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics.

Market participants also await Feb. 1-20 output data, due this week, which is estimated to be lower and could support price recovery, he added.

The soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.47%, while its palm oil contract fell 0.03%. Meanwhile, soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade declined 0.02%.

Palm ends lower on profit taking, lack of fresh buying

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

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-25 fell 10.7% to 951,409 metric tons from 1,064,778 metric tons shipped from Jan. 1-25, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Palm oil is biased to retest support of 3,813 ringgit per metric ton, with a good chance of breaking below this level and falling towards 3,789 ringgit.