08.06.2018 (DAWN.com) - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, hitting their lowest in one month on continued concerns about a weak demand outlook, while declines in Chicago soybeans also weighed on the market.

The palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.25 per cent at 2,388 ringgit ($600.75) a tonne by the close. Trading volume stood at 40,305 lots of 25 tonnes.

“Basically weak demand is causing prices to retreat,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based palm oil trader. Buying for Ramazan has fizzled out as most buyers have already stocked up with the vegetable oil. “A weaker external market is also influencing Malaysian palm oil prices,” said another Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

On Thursday, the most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were marginally lower at $9.94 a bushel, after hitting their weakest since April 4 at $9.92 a bushel, as uncertainty about U.S. trade relations with China, the world’s top soybean importer, weighed on the market.