JAKARTA, Aug 27: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 3.8 per cent on Wednesday, recovering some of this week’s losses due to improved demand and rebounding crude oil prices, dealers said.

Malaysian palm oil futures have tumbled nearly 45 per cent since a record high in March on rising global vegetable oil supplies and faltering crude oil prices which have dimmed the prospects for the use of vegetable oils as alternative energy.

The have fallen about 18 percent since the start of the year.

The benchmark November crude oil contractsettled up 93 ringgit, or 3.86 per cent, at 2,502 ringgit ($739) per ton on the day.

It hit a session high of 2,523 ringgit per ton, rebounding from a one-week low of 2,406 ringgit marked on Tuesday.

The market gained today only on the back of firm crude prices. But we are looking at range trading of 2,400-2,550 ringgit in the next 1-2 days, said a dealer at a foreign brokerage firm.

Other traded contracts rose between 30 and 111 ringgit per ton. Overall volume stood at 12,824 of 25 tons each.

Malaysian palm futures also got support from expectations that export demand would rise gradually as India and Pakistan were interested in buying, traders said. Low prices will lift some demand, the dealer said.

But the high-cycle period which was extended from September-October to November, means demand may not enough to soak up stocks, he said.

Pakistan bought 25,000 tons of RBD palm oil and crude palm oil, traders said on Tuesday. India’s Tamil Nadu state is in talks to buy 100,000 tons of refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil in the next few months, a trader involved in the deal said on Tuesday.

Producers in Medan, North Sumatra — home to Belawan port, the country’s key port for palm oil exports — offered crude oil at 6,500-6,600 rupiah a kg, down from 6,540-6,650 rupiah a kg on Tuesday.

In the physical market in Malaysia, crude palm oil for delivery in September was offered at 2,500/2,510 ringgit a ton in south and central region. No trades were done.—Reuters