Malaysian palm oil futures scored their first gain in four sessions on Thursday, tracking stronger edible oils and lifted by tighter supplies, traders said. The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.8 percent to 2,658 ringgit, having reversed a prior-day loss when it fell to a low of 2,608 ringgit, its weakest since August 8.
The market however is down 0.9 percent so far on a weekly basis. Traded volumes stood at 46,411 lots of 25 tonnes each by Thursday evening. "There is some buying going on in the market, it could pick up more later in the month," said a trader from Kuala Lumpur. "Crude palm oil (supplies) have tightened ... despite the good production numbers."
Palm oil output in July saw a stronger-than-expected surge, up 20.7 percent to 1.83 million tonnes from the previous month. Output was the highest in almost two years, while monthly gains were the strongest since March 2015. The market was also up tracking gains in soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade, another futures trader added.
Palm oil prices are impacted by movements in related edible oils including soya, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. The October soyabean oil contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was in line for a second day of gains, and was last up 0.5 percent on Thursday. In other related oils, the January soyabean oil on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.3 percent, while the January palm olein contract was also up 0.4 percent.