Malaysian palm oil futures edged up slightly around noon on Thursday, snapping two sessions of declines, tracking overnight gains in US soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). A strong ringgit was however seen limiting the gains, said a trader. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, rose 0.6 percent against the dollar to 3.8920 around noon.
"Palm oil is borrowing strength from overnight gains in rival oilseed," said a futures trader from Kuala Lumpur, referring to CBOT soyaoil. "Continuous appreciation in the local currency may, however, cap palm's upside."
A stronger ringgit typically makes palm oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies. The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.1 percent at 2,505 ringgit ($643.63) a tonne at noon, and is down 0.4 percent for the week.
Trading volumes stood at 11,371 lots of 25 tonnes each. Malaysian markets will be closed on Thursday after the midday break and on Friday for the Lunar New Year holiday. Markets will resume trading on Feb. 19.
In other related edible oils, the March soyabean oil contract on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.7 percent in overnight trade on Wednesday, and was last slightly up 0.1 percent on Thursday. China's Dalian Commodity Exchange is also closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Palm oil prices are impacted by other rival edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Palm oil looks neutral in a narrow range of 2,486-2,518 ringgit per tonne, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
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