KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6: Malaysian crude palm oil futures scaled a record peak of 2,960 ringgit per ton on Tuesday, bolstered by surging crude and soyaoil markets.

The prospect of top analyst Dorab Mistry giving bullish comments on palm oil at an industry conference in Indonesia in the coming days prompted players to short cover just before the market close, helping to push palm prices to a sixth record peak in just three weeks.

The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 30 ringgit, or 1 per cent to settle at 2,960 ringgit ($887).

It could be the start of another great palm oil rally with strong crude and soyaoil giving support and Dorab Mistry as a big catalyst, said a trader with a foreign brokerage based in Malaysia.

Believe it or not, 3,000 ringgit a ton may be within reach now, if Dorab says some positive things about the palm oil industry, especially in terms of export demand and price forecasts. Mistry, a director with London-based Godrej International, will speak at the Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and Price Outlook 2008 held in Bali on Thursday.

Other traded months rose between 6 and 25 ringgit, except for the May 2008 contract which fell slightly. Overall volume stood at 7,492 lots of 25 tons each, more than half of the 12,000 lots that change hands on a routine trading day.

The commodity, up more than 48 per cent this year, had initially been rising on strong global demand and an expected supply shortfall in the coming months, traders said.

Later, news of rival producer Indonesia raising export taxes and talk of China slashing import duties for edible oils, as well as the strength of crude and soyaoil markets, gave palm oil new momentum, pushing prices to record highs.

December soyaoil at the Chicago Board of Trade settled 0.08 cent per lb lower at 42.56 cents per lb on Monday, pressured by meal/oil spreading and the weakness in the energy markets.

Palm oil and soyaoil increasingly track movements in the crude oil market because of growing demand for both commodities as feedstock for biodiesel.

The most active May contract for refined palm oil futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rose nearly 0.8 per cent to 8,666 yuan ($1,163).

January palm oil on Singapore’s Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange was untraded.

In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for November shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,960/2,970 ringgit a ton. Trades were done at 2,945 and 2,960 ringgit.—Reuters