JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures climbed for a third straight session on Friday to their highest in nearly three weeks as expectations of weak output in August and improving demand underpinned the contract.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 43 ringgit, or 1.12%, to 3,869 ringgit ($884.95) a metric ton at closing. The contract gained 5.1% for the week, its biggest weekly gain since mid-June 2023. “Preliminary Aug. 1-20 production figures by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association are not so encouraging; we are not seeing a double-digit growth in production,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, a director at Selangor-based broker Pelindung Bestari.

Indonesia’s plan to raise the biodiesel blend to 40% in January from the current 35% and improving demand from major buyers China and India are also supporting the price, he added.

“We saw a lot of interest from China yesterday; they bought a lot of December cargo. A lot of activities in India yesterday, they also bought a lot of cargo. Overall, it looks like demand is coming back again to palm oil,” he said.

Dalian’s palm oil contract gained 0.96%, while the most-active soyoil contract was down 0.21%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1.09%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Aug. 1-20 fell between 16.7% and 18.4% from a month earlier, data from cargo surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia showed.