KUALA LUMPUR, March 27: Heavy covering by refiners pushed up Malaysian palm oil futures on Thursday as worries about shipments to the Middle East subsided, traders said.

Some traders said shipment bookings to Red Sea ports, which include Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt, would be steady at around 100,000 tonnes in April, despite fears over the war in Iraq.

At the close on Thursday, the benchmark third-month futures, June rose 47 ringgit to 1,452 ringgit ($382.11) a ton after trading as low as 1,395 ringgit.

Overall volume was heavy at 11,280 lots.

Big refiners are pushing up the market, said one dealer.

In the physical crude palm oil market, sellers offered March/ April crude palm oil at 1,465 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,455 ringgit for southern region.

Deals were reported at 1,440 to 1,455 ringgit.

March/April CPO for central region was offered at 1,460 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,455 ringgit. Deals were done at 1,440 to 1,455 ringgit.—Reuters