KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19: Malaysian crude palm oil futures recouped early losses and moved into positive ground on the back of technical covering and talk of market-friendly export figures, traders said on Monday.

New benchmark third-month February ended up 28 ringgit at 1,124 ringgit ($295.79) a ton. The contract had touched a high of 1,125 ringgit after breaking key resistance of 1,122 ringgit.

Volume was heavy at 2,040 lots.

It’s a technical rebound, which I think is normal, said one analyst in Kuala Lumpur. People are speculating on the export figures, she added.

Cargo surveyors ITS and SGS are scheduled to release November 1-20 exports figures on Tuesday. Some traders believed exports could total one million tons in November up from the official 898,918 tons in October because of steady demand.

One trader said India and China had made some fresh inquiries because of the recent correction in prices.

Palm oil futures reached their highest level in three months — third-month basis — at 1,170 ringgit last Tuesday.

India’s palm oil imports can easily reach 325,000 tons in November, of which 200,000 tons will come from Malaysia. The rest will be supplied by Indonesia, said the trader.

China will at least import 250,000 tons in November, he added.

India, which was Malaysia’s main buyer in 2000, taking 2.03 million tons, bought 162,797 tons of palm oil from Malaysia in October while China purchased 174,008 tons.

Some traders speculated end-November palm oil stocks may ease to 950,000 tons against the official 1.34 million tons in October because of strong exports. End-December stocks could reach 1.1 million tons against 1.42 million tons in end-December 2000.

At the physical sector, short covering lifted prices. There is talk about fewer supplies because of the rainy season. That’s why you see some covering here and there, said one trader.

The November contract for the southern region was bid/asked at 1,065/1,075 ringgit. There were deals at 1,060 to 1,065.

The November contract for the central region was bid/asked 1,075/1,080 ringgit. Deals were reported at 1,060 to 1,075.

The December contract for the southern and central regions was offered at 1,075 ringgit, but there were no bids.—Reuters