Malaysian palm oil futures recovered on Thursday after two straight days of declines, tracking competing vegetable oils to end the trading day higher, despite a stronger ringgit. The palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 0.4 percent to reach 2,501 ringgit ($605.57) per tonne at the close. Palm oil earlier hit 2,470 ringgit, the weakest since February 2 after also hitting one-month lows in the two previous sessions. Traded volume stood at 49,846 lots of 25 tonnes on Thursday.
"The market recovered from its oversold condition ... and tracking soyoil recovery," a trader based in Kuala Lumpur said. Palm was pressured for most of the day by a stronger ringgit, which gained 0.7 percent against the dollar to reach 4.1300 in evening trade. Palm oil is supported by a weaker ringgit, the currency it is traded in, as it makes the tropical oil cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. In competing vegetable oil markets, the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.6 percent while the Chicago soyoil contract rose 0.7 percent.