KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures extended early losses on Friday and fell nearly 3% for the week, as a deep slump in exports during the first half of November stoked demand worries.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 1.62% at 3,288 ringgit ($803.91) a tonne.

For the week, it has declined 2.7% after climbing for four consecutive weeks.

“Worries about demand destruction due to high prices in major consuming countries triggered the selling spree today,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

Exports from Malaysia during Nov. 1-20 fell 16% from the same period, cargo surveyors said.

The market is also trading on expectations of higher palm imports from Indonesia, which is likely holding local stocks at 1.6 million tonnes, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager & broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

Dalian’s most-active soyaoil contract fell 0.5%, while its palm oil contract fell 2.7%.—Reuters