KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose nearly 2% on Thursday, tracking gains in rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) as markets worried over tight Argentine supplies due to labour strikes.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 63 ringgit to 3,598 ringgit ($887.08) a tonne in early trade, on course to log a weekly gain.

The contract on Wednesday posted its largest intraday jump since Oct. 26.

Argentine oilseed workers and grains inspectors said on Wednesday they will spend Christmas on strike, further bogging down agricultural exports by extending a work stoppage that started on Dec. 9.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Soyoil on the CBOT was up 0.7%.

Meanwhile, soy and palm oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 2.6% and 3.3%, respectively.

Palm oil may break a resistance at 3,552 ringgit per tonne, and rise to 3,631 ringgit, as the surge on Wednesday confirmed a continuation of the uptrend, Reuters market technicals analyst Wang Tao said.