(Feb 23): Malaysian palm oil futures dropped for a fourth straight session on Tuesday to hit their lowest level in more than two weeks, after data from a palm millers' body showed an unexpected rise in production.
The palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.6% to RM2,551 at the close of trade, after hitting RM2,542, its lowest since Feb. 5, earlier in the session.
Traded volume stood at 48,314 lots of 25 tonnes each.
"Palm continued (its fall) on technical selling on yesterday's weak closing," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader with a brokerage firm, blaming the surprise gain in output for the fall.
The Southern Palm Oil Millers' Association released data on Tuesday that showed output up 2.6% between Feb 1 and Feb 20 compared with the same period in January.
Output of the vegetable oil is likely to drop in February due to seasonal trends and the dry weather effects of the El Nino, an industry analyst said earlier.
Industry experts have also forecast growth in global palm oil production to slow this year, but recent rainfall could mute the impact of the El Nino weather pattern which brings crop-damaging dry weather across Southeast Asia.
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