KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures gained more than 1 per cent in the second half of trading on Monday, snapping five straight sessions of declines, tracking strength in crude oil and US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soyoil. The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery was up 0.9pc at 2,162 ringgit ($523.87) a tonne on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange at the close of trade, its strongest daily gain in two weeks.

It earlier rose as much as 1.3pc to an intraday high of 2,170 ringgit, after hitting a three-year low on Friday. Palm shed 3.6pc last week in its second consecutive weekly decline. Trading volumes stood at 37,379 lots of 25 tonnes each at the close of trade. Soyoil’s gain on Friday and firm crude oil on Monday helped palm oil open on a strong note, said a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2018