Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended higher as they trailed a rebound in soyaoil, but a clear trend is likely to emerge after export estimates due later for March 1-25, dealers said.
The benchmark third-month June contract on Bursar Malaysia Derivatives closed up six ringgit at 1,444 ringgit ($391.93) a tonne. Other traded contracts were down one to up four ringgit. Volume stood at 5,687 lots of 25 tonnes, significantly higher than on Monday's 2,340 lots.
The market typically sees 6,000 lots or more on a busy day. "It's a bit of a slow market this but I think a clearer trend will emerge with the coming export numbers," said a trader.
June futures ended eight ringgit down on Tuesday after slack demand from key Asian importers and a strengthening ringgit and traders said prices could slip further as the outlook for domestic production improves. But data showing a pick up in exports over the last five days lent some support to the market, traders said.
Society General de Surveillance (SGS), one of the two cargo surveyors watched by the industry, said on Monday Malaysia's palm oil exports for March 1-20 stood at 708,345 tonnes, down 4.8 percent from the 744,152 tonnes it had tracked for February 1-20.
SGS had estimated a sharper fall of 6.8 percent for March 1-15 exports, versus February 1-15. Dealers said on Tuesday's market was supported by a stronger soyaoil.
Soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade was down at Monday's close, with the key May contract ending 0.08 cent lower at 22.83 cents per lb. But on Tuesday's electronic trading during Asian hours, the contract rebounded 0.12 cent to 22.95 cents.
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