Malaysian palm oil futures continued their decline for the fourth consecutive session on Friday, resulting in their poorest performance in nine months. This downturn follows India's announcement of intentions to reduce imports of vegetable oils, while sustained weakness in competing edible oils further dampened market sentiment.

The main palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped by 18 ringgit, or 0.47%, reaching 3,780 ringgit ($799.83) per metric ton by midday break.

For the week, the contract has seen a decline of about 5.9%, marking its most significant weekly drop since May 2.

Mitesh Saiya, trading manager at Mumbai-based firm Kantilal Laxmichand & Co., highlighted the overarching challenge of reduced demand in the edible oils market.

On Wednesday, India's finance minister announced plans to enhance local oilseed production, aiming to curb the costly imports of vegetable oils from leading producers worldwide.

In the Dalian Commodity Exchange, the most active soyoil contract witnessed a decline of 1.19%, while the palm oil contract fell by 1.07%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade also experienced a dip of 0.46%.

Given that palm oil competes with other oils in the global market, movements in related oils significantly impact its price.

Saiya emphasized concerns regarding Chinese demand in the future, stating, "The Lunar Festival buying seems to have concluded, and the focus now shifts to China's economic situation and what they do post festival."

China's private-sector Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI remained steady at 50.8 in January, unchanged from December. This contrasts with an official survey indicating a fourth consecutive month of contraction in manufacturing activity.

According to data from LSEG, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) estimates Malaysian palm oil product exports in January at 1.17 million tons, reflecting a 0.19 million-ton increase from December.

However, other independent cargo surveyors, Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia, reported declines of 6.7% and 9.4%, respectively, in Malaysian palm oil product exports for January compared to the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian ringgit, the currency in which palm oil is traded, experienced a slight strengthening of 0.02% against the dollar.

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