KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell to a one-week low in the first half of trade on Friday, pressured by losses in related oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, but on track for their strongest monthly gain since January.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was last down 0.5% at 2,210 ringgit per tonne, but is up 6.8% for the month so far.

A bearish target at 2,181 ringgit per tonne has been resumed for palm oil, as it broke a support range of 2,230-2,243 ringgit, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

“Palm prices fell following the weaker Dalian market,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that sentiment had turned cautious ahead of export data announcements by cargo surveyors in the coming days.

Malaysian export data for the full month of August is scheduled for release on Aug. 31 and Sept. 3. Demand for the last reported period rose between 18-21.5% during Aug. 1-25, from the corresponding period last month.

Malaysian markets will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.

In other related oils, U.S. soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were last up 0.1%.

The September soyoil contract on the Dalian exchange edged down 0.8% while the Dalian September palm oil contract fell 1.8%.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements in related oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.—Reuters