The Star Online (28/10/2017) - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were virtually flat on Friday, giving up most early gains as profit taking emerged and the market was cautious ahead of export data due early next week.

"Palm is off its high now, probably due to technical selling and traders profit taking ahead of the weekend, as crude oil prices have eased and overseas rival oil markets are also off highs," a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader said.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.14 percent at 2,817 ringgit ($664) a tonne.

Traded volumes totalled 48,620 lots of 25 tonnes each on Friday

The market is likely to remain cautious ahead of export data due on Tuesday from cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and  Societe Generale de Surveillance for Oct. 1-31.

Intertek Testing Services reported on Wednesday that exports of Malaysian palm oil products during Oct. 1-25 rose 8.6 percent to 1,177,939 tonnes from 1,085,116 tonnes shipped a month earlier.

Societe Generale de Surveillance said exports of Malaysian palm oil products during Oct. 1-25 rose 8.3 percent to 1,197,237 tonnes from 1,105,555 tonnes shipped a month ago.

Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Association's (MPOA) for Oct. 1-20 showed production rose by 10.5 percent.

Concerns that the La Nina weather pattern could hurt production buoyed palm prices, said the trader.

The December soybean oil contract on the CBOT declined by 0.03 percent, while the January soybean oil contract on the Dalian gained up to 0.2 percent, and the January palm olein contract rose 0.3 percent.

Movements in related oils impact palm prices as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil is poised to break a resistance at 2,812 ringgit per tonne, and head closer to the Sept. 14 high of 2,860 ringgit, says Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals, Wang Tao.- Reuters