Malaysian palm oil higher

Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Tuesday, tracking a rebound in crude oil, traders said, after hitting the lowest level in nearly four months the previous day. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products were expected to climb further, also lifting market sentiment.
"The market will price in the demand-side of the equation very soon," said one trader in Kuala Lumpur. "Exports are likely to be better than last month, yet the strengthening ringgit kept market players on the sidelines," said another trader in Kuala Lumpur.
The benchmark August crude palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.82 percent, or 20 ringgit, to 2,445 ringgit ($785) a tonne. Overall traded volume reached 8,611 lots of 25 tonnes each, well below the daily average of 10,000 lots. Other palm oil contracts also gained between 0.41 percent to 0.98 percent.
Higher crude oil prices also gave some support to other vegetable oil markets. US soyoil futures rose almost 1 percent in Asian hours, while the most-active January soybean oil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange also strengthened.
In the Malaysian physical market, palm oil for May was traded at between 2,470 ringgit to 2,500 ringgit per tonne in the southern and central region. Meanwhile, June contracts were traded at 2,480 ringgit to 2,490 ringgit per tonne.
Reuters technical analysis showed that a bearish target for Malaysian palm oil futures third-month contract of 2,360 ringgit per tonne remains intact, as the trend signal is still bearish. Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance unveil May 1-20 Malaysian palm oil export data on May 20.
INDONESIAN PALM TRADES: In Indonesia, Jakarta-based PT KPB Nusantara, formerly known as the state marketing centre, sold all 2,500 tonnes of palm oil for export prices at $765 per tonne, FOB Belawan and Dumai. Producers in Medan, home to Indonesia's main palm oil export port of Belawan, sold palm oil at prices ranging from 7,280 rupiah ($0.80) per kg to 7,330 rupiah.
Refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used for cooking oil, sold at 7,650 rupiah per kg, higher than the previous day's 7,600 rupiah per kg. PT Astra Agro Lestari sold palm kernel oil at $1,025 per tonne.