KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose more than 1% on Tuesday, gaining for a fourth straight session, supported by stronger Chicago soyoil prices after China purchased American soybeans.
The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended 59 ringgit, or 1.42% higherat 4,210 ringgit ($1,012.02) a metric ton.
The contract tracked gains in the Chicago soyoil market today, said David Ng, a proprietary trader at Kuala Lumpur-based trading firm Iceberg X Sdn Bhd.
China bought at least 14 cargoes of U.S. soybeans on Monday, two traders with knowledge of the deals said, its largest purchase since at least January and the most significant since a summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in October.
Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.6%, while its palm oil contract edged 0.39% higher. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 1.37%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Meanwhile, the ringgit palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.29% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Malaysia has lowered its crude palm oil reference price for December to a level that maintains the export duty at 10%, according to a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website.