Malaysian crude palm oil futures reversed losses by the close on Thursday, helped by technical buying and a rebound in Chicago soyaoil in Asian screen trading.
Weakness in soya futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) overnight and China's Dalian Commodity Exchange had weighed on palm oil prices, traders said.
Dalian soyabean futures opened mostly limit down on Thursday after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday amid worries about bird flu, which is spreading deeper into Asia, hitting demand for meal.
The benchmark third-month palm oil futures contract, April, ended up 19 ringgit at 1,768 ringgit ($465.26) a tonne after hitting an intra-day low of 1,720.
The contract fell 33 ringgit on Wednesday and another 29 ringgit this before it rebounded.
"The market was slightly oversold, and this prompted some technical support," said one trader.
But traders expected selling pressure on Friday as players liquidated positions ahead of next week's holiday.
The Malaysian market will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Muslim Eid-ul-Azha and Federal Territory Day holidays, on Wednesday.
Other traded months rose between 10 and 25 ringgit. Overall volume increased to 6,299 lots from Wednesday's 4,321 lots.
In Alliance/CBOT/Eurex (A/C/E) trading on Thursday, CBOT March soyaoil was up 0.05 cent per lb at 28.98 cents.
In physical trading of crude palm oil, January/February saw bids/offers at 1,805/1,810 ringgit a tonne in the southern and central regions, up from 1,790/1800 at Wednesday's close.
Trade was reported at 1,790-1,805 ringgit for both regions.
PALM OIL FUTURES:
January (south): 1810.
Open/High/Low: 1728/1776/1720.
Previous closes: 1800.
PALM OIL PHYSICALS: April (3rd month): 1768.
Previous settlement: 1749.
FUTURES: Benchmark third-month April up 19 ringgit to 1,768 ringgit a tonne.
PHYSICALS: Also rebounded.
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