Malaysian palm oil futures were set on Friday to post their biggest weekly gain in six, as prices rose for a fourth consecutive session despite market sentiment turning slightly cautious ahead of export data due over the weekend.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange climbed 15 ringgit, or 0.34%, to 4,462 ringgit ($1,067.98) a tonne by the midday break, tracking gains in rival oils.
Palm tracked a rally in rival Dalian oils but worries over likely lower Sept. 1-25 exports weighed slightly on sentiment, traders said.
“Given the very high palm oil prices, demand is expected to be in bits and pieces and buyers would wait for a reasonable downside correction to cover,” Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group, said in a note.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 1.8%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 was up 2.4%. The Chicago Board of Trade soyoil prices BOc2 gained 0.5%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Investors are also looking out for comments from leading industry analysts at the Globoil India conference that is due to end on Saturday.
India’s edible oil imports in September could jump as much as 59% from a year ago, as refiners raised purchases after the government slashed import duty ahead of key festivals, the head of an industry body said on Thursday.
Palm oil may revisit its Aug. 12 high of 4,560 ringgit per tonne, as it has broken a resistance at 4,435 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Subhranshu Sahu)