Malaysian palm oil starts 2026 on weak note

JAKARTA, Jan 2 (Reuters): Malaysian palm oil futures fell and booked a weekly drop on Friday, their first trading session of 2026, as traders digested sluggish export data from cargo surveyors and awaited December production figures for further price guidance.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 1.48 per cent to 3,990 ringgit ($984.70) a metric ton at closing. It lost 2.42 per cent for the week. Malaysian palm oil product exports for December declined between 5.2 per cent and 5.8 per cent month-on-month, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia in their reports released on Wednesday. "The full-month Malaysian palm oil export has declined by more than 5 per cent in contrast to the market expectations of a sound increase over the low base of November," said Anilkumar Bagani, commodity research head at Mumbai-based brokerage Sunvin Group.