KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a third day on Monday to their highest in six weeks, spurred by gains in competing markets, ahead of an important industry meeting in Malaysia, traders said.

Palm traders in Asia are watching authorities crack down on a strike in Brazil that took soybean prices to their fourth week of gains on Friday on concerns over disrupted supply.

The increase in palm oil was also a result of a weakening in the ringgit, which edged down to 3.63 to the dollar on Monday, the trader added.

A weaker ringgit, which has fallen more than 15 per cent since September, can support prices of the ringgit-based commodity by effectively giving international buyers a cheaper deal.

The benchmark March contract was up 2.95pc to 2,373 ringgit ($654) per tonne, after touching 2,379 ringgit, its highest level since Jan. 15. Traded volume stood at 41,871 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the usual 35,000 lots.

The gain in prices came despite a drop in exports from the world’s second-biggest producer. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in February fell 14.5pc to 953,053 tonnes from 1,114,642 tonnes shipped in January, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) said on Monday.

Published in Dawn March 3rd , 2015

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