KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by speculative buying on views the market was oversold. The benchmark third month contract had slipped 2.2 per cent on Tuesday, tracking a decline in crude oil prices and as traders booked profit.

Derivatives finished up 19 ringgit at 1,680 ringgit ($460) a ton after trading in a wide range of 1,650 and 1,690 ringgit.

Overall volume stood at 14,978 lots of 25 tons each. Open interest, which indicates the number of players in the market, rose to 77,852 lots from 50,000 to 60,000 lots on normal days.

The market ignored a drop in the prices of rival soyaoil which it often tracks because of common use in products ranging from food and soap to cosmetics and bio diesel.

In the physical market, November shipments were quoted at 1,640/1,645 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 1,630 and 1,640 ringgit a ton.—Reuters