Palm oil prices fell at the close on Friday but have risen for the month.

Palm oil prices fell amid a weaker Chicago soybean oil market and a strong ringgit, according to David Ng, a trader at Iceberg X in Kuala Lumpur. He said support for palm oil prices could be seen at 4,200 ringgit per tonne, with resistance at 4,350 ringgit per tonne.

Malaysian palm oil futures snapped a four-month losing streak on Friday, despite a late-day decline as investors took profits.

They rose weekly in January, up 4.42%, thanks to higher soybean oil and crude oil prices, favorable production and export data, while the ringgit also weakened.

Benchmark palm oil contract FCPO1! April delivery crude oil on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 88 ringgit, or 2.04%, to close at 4,229 ringgit (US$1,073.62) per metric tonne.

“Today’s futures were in profit-taking territory, as they were over the weekend, and also followed the weakness of Dalian and Chicago soybean oil after their recent gains,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

The most-active Dalian soybean oil contract fell 0.84%, while the palm oil contract lost 0.96%. Soybean oil prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 1%.

Palm oil prices follow the price movements of competing edible oils as it fights for share in the global vegetable oil market.

However, losses were limited by the weakening of the ringgit, the palm oil trading currency, which fell 0.36% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currency.

Indonesia set the benchmark price for crude palm oil at $918.47 per metric ton for February, up slightly from $915.64 per ton in January, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday.

Oil prices fell more than 1% from multi-month highs on Friday, though they are poised for their biggest gains in years as risk premiums soared due to the potential for a US attack on Iran to disrupt supplies.

Weaker oil futures make palm oil a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

(US$1 = 3.9390 ringgit)