KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures jumped more than 1 per cent in the second half of trade on Thursday, ending the day higher on expectations of slowing February output in line with seasonal trend and improving exports.

The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 1pc at 2,272 ringgit ($557.68) a tonne at the close of trade, snapping four days of losses.

In other related oils, the Chicago March soybean oil contract was up 0.5pc, while the May contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was flat at 1036 GMT. The Dalian January palm oil contract was up 0.1pc. Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil rates, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.

Palm oil may keep hovering above support at 2,249 ringgit or bounce towards resistance at 2,285 ringgit per tonne, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2019