Palm extend gains tracking rival oils

SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Thursday for a second straight session, tracking rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), while higher exports in the first half of December also lent support.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 11 ringgit, or 0.3%, to 3,376 ringgit ($835.02) a tonne in early trade.

"Palm is still up on strong external markets," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 1.1%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.7%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.4%.

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

US soybean futures edged higher as concerns over production in South America supported prices.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Dec. 1 to 15 rose 9.5% to 725,380 tonnes from a month earlier, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said late on Tuesday.

Palm oil may retest a resistance at 3,474 ringgit per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain into 3,504-3,552 ringgit range, Reuters analyst Wang Tao said.