Palm oil rises on weaker ringgit, improved demand

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Monday in a second session of gains, supported by a weaker ringgit and better demand prospects.

A weakening of palm oil's traded currency usually makes it cheaper for holders of other currencies. The ringgit fell 0.5 percent to 4.1270 against the dollar, its weakest since Nov. 22.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 0.4 percent at 2,258 ringgit ($547.13) a tonne, after hitting an intraday high of 2,260 ringgit.

The contract had jumped 1.4 percent in the previous session, and had gained 1.3 percent on the week, its strongest weekly rise in three weeks.

Trading volumes stood at 28,226 lots of 25 tonnes each at the close of trade.

"The weaker ringgit supported the market," a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur said, adding that expectations of better exports also lent support to the market.

Data from cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia showed that palm oil shipments from Malaysia rose 3-4 percent in August.

A third cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a 0.4 percent rise in shipments for the same period.

Last month, Malaysia cut its export tax on crude palm oil for September to 0 percent, which could encourage demand, said the trader.

In other related oils, the January soybean oil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed up 0.4 percent, while the Dalian January palm oil contract closed flat. US markets are closed on Monday.

Palm oil prices are impacted by movements of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.