JAKARTA: Malaysian crude palm oil futures surged 2.3 per cent to their highest closing level in six and a half months yesterday, supported by a crude oil price rebound and fresh buying in the physical market, traders said.

“After crude oil moved above $71, people get excited again. We also heard that a big buyer has been chasing olein again since the morning,” said a trader at a Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage firm.

The benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up RM57 to RM2,587 per tonne, the highest finishing since June 2.

The contract briefly hit an intraday high of RM2,596, a level not seen since Dec. 7 before some profit-taking emerged.

Overall volume was at 16,437 lots of 25 tonnes.

Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Wednesday, extending gains after snapping a nine-day losing streak a day earlier, as industry data showing a steep fall in U.S. distillate stockpiles overshadowed signs of weak demand. Energy prices tend to influence vegetable oil markets as petroleum diesel competes with biodiesel.

In the Malaysian physical market, palm oil for December delivery was traded at RM2,500-2,510 per tonne in the southern and central regions. Source: Business Times

 

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