KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed up on Tuesday, rebounding from slight losses the previous day, on buying spurred by higher prices of rival US soyaoil, dealers said.

But trade volumes were moderate due to a lack of other positive leads.

The benchmark third-month crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, November, also stayed below the psychologically-important resistance of $373.33 a ton.

The contract closed up five ringgit at 1,392 ringgit, recouping all of Monday’s losses. Its high for the day was 1,393.

There’s not enough momentum yet to push the market onto the 1,400 range and that’s purely because the only driving factor now is soyaoil, said a trader.

Soyaoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up in Tuesday’s electronic session, with deliveries for September through December gaining 0.17 to 0.18 cent a lb.

Palm oil and soyaoil compete for export destinations and their prices often move in step.

Aside from November, other futures contracts in palm oil settled up 2 to 6 ringgit.

Trade totalled 2,789 lots of 25 tons each. The market typically sees 6,000 lots or more on a busy day.

Prices were down on Monday as clear weather helped allay fears of another episode of haze from Indonesian forest fires, that slowed work on local plantations two weeks ago and drove the market up.

Dealers said export estimates of palm oil for August 1 to 25, due from cargo surveyors on Thursday, will determine if the market goes beyond 1,400 ringgit.

Societe Generale de Surveillance, the main cargo surveyor for Malaysian palm oil exports, said on Monday that exports for August 1 to 20 rose 11.6 per cent from July 1 to 20.

Dealers said the market could rally if SGS estimated a 20 Per cent growth or so for its next set data due on Thursday.

In physical dealings of crude palm oil on Tuesday, delivery for August was offered at 1,385 ringgit a ton and bid at 1,380 in the southern and central regions of Malaysia. Trades were reported at 1,377.50-1,380 ringgit.

—Reuters