Malaysian palm oil futures were little changed on Monday, hovering near MYR 4,020 per tonne, following a sharp drop in the prior session as bargain hunting emerged after prices slid to a two-week low. Traders continued to assess confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding private export sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year, a factor that could influence competing vegetable oil markets. Investors also digested weak activity data from China, a key buyer, where November industrial output and retail sales growth fell short of forecasts amid persistent domestic and external headwinds. Meanwhile, data released last week by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed November crude palm oil production fell 5.3% mom to 1.94 million tonnes. However, end-November stocks jumped 13% to 2.84 million tonnes, the highest in 6-1/2 years, on robust full-year output that is on track to top 20 million tonnes for the first time ever.
