Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed higher on Tuesday, fuelled by improved export performance and higher prices of rival soyoil. Exports of Malaysian palm products for July 1-25 stood at 968,714 tonnes, up 7.4 percent from the 901,923 tonnes shipped between June 1 and 25, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe de Surveillance, said exports of palm products for July 1-25 rose 12.4 percent from 849,560 tonnes shipped during the same period in June. "The market is reacting to exports number, which have gone up, and soybean oil has risen," one trader said. "There was some covering in the afternoon session."
The benchmark third-month October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed up 11 ringgit at 1,576 ringgit ($428) a tonne. Other contracts rose between three and 14 ringgit a tonne. Overall volumes stood at 8,752 lots of 25 tonnes each. Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended higher on Monday, rebounding from last week's dive to a one-month low as forecasts called for hotter, drier weather in early August as the crop moves into its critical growing phase, traders said.
August soybeans closed 6-1/4 cents higher at $5.83-1/4 per bushel and new-crop November was 6-1/4 firmer at $6.04-3/4. Soyoil 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.