Malaysian palm oil futures climbed 0.6 percent to a seven-week high on Friday, boosted by expectations overseas demand will grow. "People are looking forward to better demand in the coming months," said a trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan from the start of August, which normally see Islamic countries accelerate vegetable oil imports.
Traders are expecting the monthly export data due on Tuesday to set the market trend after cargo surveyors showed overseas demand for palm oil jumped as much as 23.4 percent during the May 1-25 period. The world's No 2 producer of the vegetable oil has been selling more palm oil as top buyers India and China stock up after running down their imported edible oil inventories.
The benchmark August crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange rose 22 ringgit to 3,438 ringgit ($1,128.879) per tonne after touching an almost seven-week high of 3,454 ringgit - a level last seen on April 11. Traded volume was 24,568 lots of 25 tonnes each, a tad lower than the usual 25,000 lots as a strengthening Malaysian currency prompted some refiners to stay on the sidelines.
A Reuters analysis showed Malaysian palm oil still faces a strong resistance zone of 3,435 to 3,461 ringgit per tonne and could continue to consolidate around 3,435 for one more trading session. Other vegetable oils were mixed in Asian trade hours. US soyoil for July delivery barely moved in Asian hours, while the most active January 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.50 percent. Brent crude rose on Friday, hovering above $115 a barrel, as a softer dollar tempered demand worries triggered by eurozone debt concerns and weak US economic data.
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