KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures scored their first gain in four sessions on Thursday, tracking stronger edible oils and lifted by tighter supplies, traders said. The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.8 per cent to 2,658 ringgit, having reversed a prior-day loss when it fell to a low of 2,608 ringgit, its weakest since Aug 8. The market however is down 0.9pc so far on a weekly basis.

Traded volumes stood at 46,411 lots of 25 tonnes each by Thursday evening. “There is some buying going on in the market, it could pick up more later in the month,” said a trader from Kuala Lumpur. “Crude palm oil (supplies) have tightened despite the good production numbers.”

Palm oil output in July saw a stronger-than-expected surge, up 20.7pc to 1.83 million tonnes from the previous month. Output was the highest in almost two years, while monthly gains were the strongest since March 2015.

The market was also up tracking gains in soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), another futures trader added.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2017