KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9: Malaysian crude palm oil futures soared 6.5 per cent on Thursday, recouping gains from a recent sell-off as some traders sensed a floor to the market.

The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 115 ringgit at 1,890 ringgit ($541).

Other traded months rose between 25 and 125 ringgit. Overall volume nearly doubled to 19,498 lots of 25 tons.

This is technically-inspired buying, said a head trader of a foreign commodities broker. The big guns are still not in the market but speculators are back on the assumption that demand should ideally start to kick in at such low levels.

Palm oil futures dived 5.1 per cent to notch fresh 22-month lows on Wednesday as investors sold most commodities in the face of the financial crisis.

Palm oil has tumbled about 57 per cent from record highs on a knock-out combination of bumper harvests and a flight from risky commodity plays in the financial turmoil.

Traders said exports data for Oct. 1-10, due on Friday, will show at least another 10 per cent decline from about 395,000 tons seen in the first 10 days in September due to long Eid--ul-Fitr holidays in Malaysia.

Malaysia’s September palm oil stocks are likely to climb 9.3 per cent from a month ago as output is expected to hit its highest level this year amid a pronounced slowdown in exports, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for October shipment in the southern region was quoted at 1,930/1,950 ringgit. Trades were done between 1,900 and 1,930 ringgit.—Reuters