KUALA LUMPUR, July 27: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 0.6 per cent on Friday as the ringgit continued to weaken and soaring crude oil prices supported the market.

Palm oil prices also were helped by expectations of better exports in the coming months, traders said.

The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished up 15 ringgit, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,583 ringgit ($747) per ton.

Palm oil is moving higher mainly because the ringgit has really weakened, one trader said.

Also, crude oil has remained above $75 a barrel making palm biodiesel a feasible alternative. Other traded months rose between 17 and 25 ringgit.

Overall traded volume was 6,474 lots of 25 tons each.

The Malaysian ringgit took a hit on Friday, falling almost 1 per cent to 3.468 per dollar a one-month low. A weaker ringgit against the dollar makes ringgit-based palm oil cheaper for overseas buyers.

Oil steadied above $75 on Friday, supported by the fundamentals of energy supply and demand and shrugging off immediate worries over corporate borrowing costs and the US economy that roiled stock markets.

London Brent crude gained 23 cents to $75.41 a barrel by 1013 GMT, after ending $1.14 lower on Thursday. US crude rose 40 cents to $75.35.

Crude oil often lends support to vegetable oils, including palm and soyabean, because of their growing use in making biodiesel, which competes with petroleum diesel.

Exports of palm oil have begun to rise after slow sales in June, as buyers across Asia lock in supplies for festivals like the Chinese mid-Autumn festival and the holy month of Ramazan, both due in September.

Festive demand for edible oils over the next few months will support palm oil futures, said another dealer.

Palm oil is only around 6 per cent off a historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in early June on robust demand from top importers India and China and dwindling supplies at home.

October palm oil on Singapore's Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange was untraded by 1013 GMT.

In the physical market, crude palm oil for July shipment in Malaysia's southern region was quoted at 2,690/2,695 ringgit a ton. Deals were done between 2,680 and 2,690 ringgit a ton.—Reuters