KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures firmed after a volatile trading day on Thursday, helped by estimates of a steep drop in November production and news of top buyer Indonesia hiking its crude palm oil levy. The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 13 ringgit, or 0.4%, at 3,329 ringgit ($817.33) a tonne, after falling 1.3% during the session.

Indonesia will raise its crude palm oil levy to $55-$255 per tonne starting Dec. 10, an official document seen by Reuters showed. This is supportive for the Malaysian palm prices as demand will shift from Indonesia to Malaysia, a Singapore-based trader said.

The world's largest palm producer also pegged its 2021 crude palm oil output at 49 million tonnes, higher compared to an estimated 47.4 million tonnes in 2020, vice chairman at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) told a virtual conference. Dalian's most-active soyaoil contract rose 0.6%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.8%.