KUALA LUMPUR, June 5: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended higher in slow trade on Monday as players waited for clearer market direction, dealers said. The benchmark third-month August contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange ended up nine ringgit at 1,447 ringgit a ton ($398.3) after trading as high as 1,458 ringgit.

Trade was very slow even though the volume was good, said one dealer. People were covering back because the direction was still not very clear.

Other traded contracts were up eight to 15 ringgit. Overall volume stood at 7,717 lots of 25 tons each, versus last Friday’s 3,972 lots. The market was expected to move in a narrow range on Tuesday.

The direction is still not very clear, and I think we will still trade in a very range bound of 1,430 to 1,450 trading, one dealer said. It will also depend how Chicago performs tonight, another dealer said.

Soyaoil and palm oil compete for exports and their prices often move in step.

Dealers said the market could become clear after the release of official production figures by the government-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board (POB).—Reuters