SINGAPORE, April 7: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended higher on Friday as traders covered short positions on market talk that overseas sales would rise this month, but a stronger ringgit was likely to limit gains.

Traders said they expected exports in the first 10 days of April to rise more than 30 per cent from less than 300,000 tons in the same period a month ago.

There is talk in the market that export numbers will be good this month, said one Kuala Lumpur trader. Demand from our main buyers has been better.

Another trader said: China has booked some cargoes. But demand from India has been slow.

The June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended up 9 ringgit at 1,422 ringgit ($387.8) a ton. May was up 7 ringgit at 1,407. Volumes for the June contract were 2,870 lots of 25 tons each.

The ringgit has been trading at eight-year highs. On Friday, it was quoted at 3.667 to the dollar.

The palm oil market also found support from rising soy futures prices, which closed firm on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday as the market continued to recover from a 30-cent decline follwing bearish USDA crop data.

The market — both palm and soya — had gone down quite a bit. It is recovering as people are keen to buy at lower levels, said one trader.

One trader said the June palm oil contract might face resistance at 1,428 in the near term.

In the physical market, traders reported buyers at 1,405-1,407.5 ringgit a ton. Sellers were offering cargoes around 1,415.

But volumes are low ahead of the weekend, said one trader.

Hamburg-based Oil World expects palm oil prices to rise due to a possible rise in global physical buying in April to June. —Reuters