Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended on Thursday higher, on the back of heavy buying and firm prices of rival soyaoil. Overall volumes at the Bursar Malaysia Derivatives Exchange nearly doubled to 9,770 lots of 25 tonnes each from 5,619 lots traded on Wednesday.
The benchmark third-month September contract ended up 10 ringgit at 1,477 ringgit ($401) a tonne. August closed up 6 ringgit at 1,452 ringgit. Other contracts rose between 4 and 12 ringgit. Traders said a couple of Singapore-based trading firms bought large quantities of palm oil in a bid to support the market.
"Two Singapore companies have bought heavily, I think they are trying to support the market," one dealer said. Soyabean futures at the CBOT ended firm on Wednesday in choppy consolidation trade ahead of the release on Friday of several important government reports, traders said.
CBOT soya closed 1/2 to 5-1/2 cents per bushel higher, with July up 1/2 at $5.78-1/2 per bushel. New-crop November was up 2-1/4 at $6.05-3/4. The US Department of Agriculture will release on Friday its June acreage and quarterly stocks reports.
On Thursday's electronic trading during Asian hours, the July contract was up 0.17 cents at 25.44 cents per lb. Soyaoil and palm oil are both used in products ranging from food and soap to cosmetics and biodiesel, so prices for the two commodities tend to move in tandem.
Dealers said the market awaits June export data due on Friday. In the physical palm oil market, sellers were offering crude palm oil for July shipments at 1,430 ringgit a tonne, but buyers were keen to seal deals at around 1,420 ringgit. They said some deals took place at around 1,425 ringgit a tonne.
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