Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Wednesday as a weaker ringgit currency attracted bargain hunters, but trade was thin as most traders avoided risky bets ahead of an industry meet in Indonesia later this week. The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.7 percent to 2,640 ringgit ($817) per tonne by Wednesday's close, but prices were stuck in a range between 2,617 and 2,653 ringgit.
"The ringgit was weaker, so that helped improve margins," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage. "There was also a lot of buying interest after prices traded just above the 2,600-ringgit level."
Market players are also waiting for fresh leads on palm oil output as the monsoon season arrives. A group of planters in the world's No 2 grower said output probably rose 4 percent in the November 1-20 period from a month ago, but heavier rains closer to December could disrupt harvesting.
Total traded volume stood at only 16,750 lots of 25 tonnes each, less than half the average of 35,000 lots, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of Friday's Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and 2014 Price Outlook.
Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil could have completed a correction from the November 22 high of 2,692 ringgit per tonne and is expected to rise toward this level, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
Palm prices have risen more than 8 percent this year, partly lifted by optimism that Indonesia's higher blending requirements for biodiesel will stoke demand for the vegetable oil and keep global palm stocks in check.
In competing vegetable oil markets, the US soyaoil contract for December rose 0.5 percent in early Asian trade. The most active May soyabean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange was flat.
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