JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher on Friday on a weaker ringgit and profit-taking ahead a long weekend, but they still posted weekly losses.

The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 97 ringgit, or 2.59%, to 3,848 ringgit ($904.14) a tonne by the end of trading hours on Friday. The contract declined 1.38% for the week.

“Since coming Monday is a holiday, market may wish to book profit while waiting for fresh lead next week,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange will be closed on Monday in lieu of the Thaipusam public holiday on Sunday.

Palm futures rebound on Friday was also supported by expectation of lower production in January, said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics.

Palm oil dropped earlier this week on the back of weak rival oils in the Dalian Commodity Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade and weak export data.

Palm oil ends lower for second day on weak exports

Palm oil imports by top buyer India plunged 31% in January as narrowing discount to rival oils prompted refiners to increase purchases of soybean and sunflower oils, five dealers told Reuters.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract fell 0.28%, while its palm oil contract rose 1.01%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.31%.

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

Meanwhile, exports of Malaysian palm oil products for January fell 26.4% to 1,113,292 tonnes from 1,512,468 tonnes shipped during December, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said.