Palm hits four-month high, logs weekly gain

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures rallied to their highest level in four months on Friday and logged a weekly gain, as stronger Dalian edible oils and a weaker ringgit supported the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 158 ringgit, or 3.76%, to 4,365 ringgit ($1,107.31) a metric ton at the close.

The contract rose 7.99% this week, helped by a price rally in crude oil, and logged its biggest weekly gain since the week of November 25, 2024.

“Bursa Malaysia CPO futures opened gap higher following a bullish rally in Chicago soyoil, gas oil and crude oil futures Thursday overnight, as well as a strong recovery in Dalian palm olein and Zhengzhou rapeseed oil futures in Asian hours,” said Anilkumar Bagani, commodity research head at Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based brokerage.

Palm is currently the cheapest oil compared to rivals soy oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, and is trading nearly neck-and-neck with gas oil prices, enhancing its appeal for fresh demand, Bagani said, adding there were concerns about softer oil deliveries due to the Middle East conflict.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract added 0.79%, while its palm oil contract rose 2.44%. Soy oil on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.12%.

Palm oil tracks the price movement of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Malaysian ringgit, the contract’s currency of trade, eased 0.05% against the U.S. dollar, making palm oil cheaper for foreign-currency holders.