KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures firmed on Friday as rival Dalian oils rallied, although the benchmark contract fell for the week on slowing exports. The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 4 ringgit, or 0.12%, to 3,407 ringgit ($841.23) a tonne, rising for a second straight session.
It fell 0.9% this week, snapping a two-week winning streak. Malaysia's palm oil end-stocks in November fell to a more than three-year low of 1.56 million tonnes as production slumped and exports declined more than expected, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board data on Thursday.
November inventories, lowest in 10 years for the month, and tight stocks and Indonesia's revised export levy will likely continue to support crude palm oil prices, Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CGS-CIMB Research, said in a note. Dalian's most-active soyaoil contract rose 2%, while its palm oil contract gained 3%. Soyaoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.4%.