KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded from early losses on Friday, to rise for a second session in three on expectations of increasing export demand.
The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.3 percent at 2,635 ringgit ($609.95) a tonne at the close. It earlier fell to 2,597 ringgit, its lowest since Tuesday.
The contract is however down 0.6 percent for the week, its first weekly decline in three.
Traded volumes stood at 59,010 lots of 25 tonnes each on Friday evening.
"The market rose later in the day on forecasts of rising exports," said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur.
Increasing demand could help support palm oil prices, traders said, as shipments are seen rising ahead of Ramadan.
The Muslim fasting month, which takes place at the end of May this year, sees Muslims break day-long fasts with communal feasting, leading to higher palm oil usage for cooking.
Cargo surveyor data, reporting Malaysian shipment figures for palm oil and related products, for the period of May 1-20 is scheduled for release after Saturday.
Palm earlier fall tracked overnight losses in soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade. Chicago soybeans on Friday were on track for their biggest weekly decline since late March, as steep falls in Brazil's currency encouraged farmers to boost sales of this year's record crop.
Soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade fell nearly 2 percent on Thursday, its sharpest daily decline in a month. It was last up 0.5 percent.
Palm competes for a share in the global vegetable oils market with soyoil, which is often the preferred oil that trades at a premium to palm.
In other related vegetable oils, the September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 1.3 percent, while the September contract for palm olein fell 0.7 percent.
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