JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a third straight session on Friday, supported by strong demand ahead the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr and on strong rival vegetable oils.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 108 ringgit, or 2.5%, to 4,420 ringgit ($996.62) a metric ton at the close.
The contract gained 1.03% for the week, its first weekly gain in three.
“Today, crude palm oil future is up on the back of strong physical demand due to next week’s holiday and supported by strong Dalian prices,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
Bursa Malaysia will be closed on Monday and Tuesday if Eid falls on Monday, March 31, but the financial markets will operate under normal trading hours on Monday should Eid fall on Tuesday, April 1.
The most-active soyoil contract in the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 1.09%, while its palm oil contract surged 2.5%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.2%.
Malaysian palm oil higher
U.S. oil and biofuels producers have agreed in principle to raise the mandate for renewable diesel and biodiesel from its current level of 3.35 billion gallons, sources said.
Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Indonesia raised its crude palm oil reference price for April to $961.54 a metric ton.
Indonesia’s palm oil inventory at the end of January rose by 13.98% month-on-month despite a drop in production as exports fell to a four-month low, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed on Thursday.
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