Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, touching a one-and-a-half-year high due to firmer comparative oils and expectations of rising demand, coupled with falling exports. The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended up 1.2 percent at 2,714 ringgit ($820) per tonne. Earlier, prices rose to 2,717 ringgit, the highest level since September 2012.
"The market is continuing an upward trend," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage. "Exports are improving sharply and will be maintained for the second half of February." "Technically, the market is on the up, and soy oil, Dalian and crude are moving higher. All these external factors are friendly towards palm oil." Extreme weather conditions in Malaysian and Indonesian plantations will also hinder output, traders added.
Total traded volume stood at 48,855 lots of 25 tonnes, above the average 35,000 lots. After Monday's close, data from cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance showed that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for February 1-15 rose 27.2 percent. Before this, Intertek Testing Services said that exports of Malaysian palm oil products from February 1 to February 15 rose 31.7 percent.
"Good exports and stocks falling," said a Jakarta-based palm trader, adding that biodiesel demand in Indonesia was also helping support prices. In comparative vegetable oils, the US soyoil contract for March added 1.5 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange was unchanged. Higher soyoil prices may push buyers towards cheaper palm instead. In other markets, Brent crude was little changed, holding above $109 a barrel, as robust demand for heating purposes from North America and a weak dollar offset concerns over disappointing US data.
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