SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures jumped 3.6% on Wednesday, extending the previous session’s gains, as investors covered short positions ahead of a public holiday.
The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 119 ringgit higher, or 3.6%, at 3,385 ringgit ($837.04). It had ended 0.7% higher on Tuesday.
“Those who sold off earlier bought back to cover, pushing the price higher,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters. “Moreover, it’s a holiday tomorrow.”
Malaysia’s stock exchange will be closed on Thursday for the Thaipusam holiday.
Costlier rival oils in China and the United States also supported prices.
Rains disrupted the harvest in Brazilian soybean-growing areas, slowing down field work in the world’s largest soy producer and potentially delaying the planting of the country’s second corn crop, pushing Chicago soyabean oil up 1.6%.
Meanwhile, Dalian Commodity Exchange’s most-active soyaoil and palm oil contracts both jumped over 2%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
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