Palm oil futures end day lower

Palm oil futures end day lower

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian palm oil ended mostly lower in directionless trade, with poor export figures putting more pressure on an already bearish market, traders said on Monday.

The market will be closed on Tuesday for Labour Day and will re-open on Wednesday.

"It's all quiet and the product market did not move much either because people's minds were already on the holiday," said one trader in Kuala Lumpur.

Benchmark third-month July was down six ringgit at 766 ringgit ($201.58) a tonne. Volume was 717 lots.

Cargo surveyor cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance Malaysia (SGS) said Malaysian palm oil exports in April fell to 943,507 tons from 1,049,403 in March,

Separately, Malaysia's Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik said Malaysia and Indonesia had urged China to release its second batch of palm oil import quotas for this year soon to ease pressure on the market.

China's palm oil import quota is set to reach 1.5 million when the country joins the World Trade Organization (WTO), expected in 2001.

May crude palm oil (CPO) for the southern region was offered at 750 ringgit a ton against bids at 745. Trades were done at 750.

May CPO (central) was offered at 745 ringgit a ton against bids at 740 and trades reported at 742.50 to 745.

June crude palm oil (CPO) for the southern and central regions was offered at 765 ringgit a ton against bids of 760 and trade was reported at 760 for both regions.