Palm set for 1st gain in three sessions tracking related edible oils

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures were in line for their first rise in three sessions on Thursday, tracking gains in the performance of rival edible oils on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and China's Dalian Commodity Exchange.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.6 percent at 2,440 ringgit ($568.23) a tonne at the midday break, set for its strongest gains in two weeks.

Palm, however, is down in the second quarter of the year so far, falling 7.8 percent from the previous quarter.

Traded volumes stood at 9,060 lots of 25 tonnes.

"Palm is tracking the recovery in overseas markets," said a futures trader based in Kuala Lumpur, referring to gains in soyoil on Dalian and the CBOT.

Another trader, however, said the market will be cautious in trade ahead of export data for the full month of June, scheduled for release by cargo surveyors on Friday.

Palm oil shipments from Malaysia are seen declining month-on-month for the June 1-30 period, as buying activity slows during Eid, the Muslim festival that marks the end of the Ramadan fasting month.

Muslims break day-long fasts with communal feasting, incurring higher palm oil usage for cooking purposes. Buyers typically stock up on palm oil supplies one to two months ahead of Ramadan.

In other related oils, soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.3 percent, while the September soybean oil on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.7 percent.

The September palm olein contract was slightly up 0.1 percent.

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