KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, falling for a fourth straight day as an anticipation of slowing demand for the tropical oil weighed, although firm crude oil markets and a weakening ringgit kept prices propped up. Market participants were also cautious and stayed on the sidelines awaiting more leads on export demand and production, traders said, keeping trade volumes low. "Demand is softening and buyers are not exactly chasing. It could be because they are well covered for Ramadan," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Malaysia. Cargo surveyor data showed that exports of Malaysian palm oil products during May 1-25 rose 13-14 percent from a month ago, rising at a slower pace than earlier in May. The benchmark August contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged down 0.1 percent to 2,503 ringgit ($776) per tonne by Wednesday's close. Prices in the afternoon session rose to 2,527 ringgit as the weaker ringgit fuelled buying interest. Total traded volume stood at 32,308 lots of 25 tonnes, below the usual 35,000 lots. Technicals showed that a bearish target at 2,472 ringgit per tonne remains unchanged for Malaysian palm oil, as it has cleared a support at 2,513 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Firm crude oil, however, provided support to palm prices, as it makes the tropical oil a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. "We have strong crude to fuel biodiesel activities. When crude trades above $100 there's some excitement for us," said another commodities trader in Kuala Lumpur. Brent oil rose on Wednesday, holding above $110 a barrel on renewed optimism about steady demand growth in the United States, the world's top oil consumer, coupled with further disruptions to Libyan supplies. Heightened geopolitical risk in Libya and Ukraine has helped Brent crude gain more than 6 percent since early April and US oil gain nearly 6 percent in the month of May. A weaker ringgit on Monday also stoked buying interest from overseas buyers and refiners. The Malaysian ringgit fell 0.1 percent to 3.2200 per dollar in late trade, after advancing 1.7 percent so far this year. In other competing vegetable oil markets, the US soyoil contract for July edged up 0.8 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange gained 0.3 percent.

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