KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures on Thursday rose for a fourth straight session, tracking firmer prices of Chicago soyoil overnight due to Chinese demand optimism.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 37 ringgit, or 0.84%, to 4,435 ringgit ($935.06) a tonne by the midday break.

Chicago soybean futures settled higher on Wednesday, lifted by optimism about soybean export demand from China, traders said.

Palm oil gained on the back of bullish global vegetable oil markets, but the easing of Chicago soy oil futures (in the day) capped the gains, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oils broker Sunvin Group. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade ticked down after a 3% overnight rise.

The focus was now on October’s production increase ahead of Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s data due on November 10, he said.

Palm hits near 10-week closing high

In top producer Indonesia, a senior cabinet minister told an industry conference that stronger prices of crude oil are making a higher mix of bio-content in fuel increasingly feasible, which currently has a mandatory 30% mix of palm oil in biodiesel.

Meanwhile, Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders warned would increase hunger globally.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 1.4%, while its palm oil contract gained 1.8%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Palm oil may break a resistance at 4,459 ringgit a tonne and rise towards 4,607 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.