Palm oil posts second weekly gain

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures reversed early gains to end lower on Friday, but posted a second straight weekly gain on expectations of tight global supply and strong demand as China, the world’s second-largest importer, increased its purchases. The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 23 ringgit, or 0.61%, at 3,768 ringgit ($911.69) a tonne, after rising as much as 2% during the session.

Palm has gained 0.8% this week. A Reuters’ poll expects Malaysia’s palm oil stockpile at end-March to rise 1.3% from the previous month to 1.32 million tonnes. Dalian’s most-active soyaoil contract fell 1.2%, while its palm oil contract declined 1.8%.