SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Tuesday, recouping some of last session’s losses with expectations of lower production of the tropical product and higher soybean prices underpinning the market.

Chicago soybean futures rose 0.5 per cent to snap a two-session losing streak, supported by the slow pace of harvesting in the United Stated and as dryness delayed planting in Brazil. Palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia is expected to decline in the months ahead as a result of dry weather earlier this year.

The benchmark January palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended 0.2pc higher at 2,136 Malaysian ringgit ($655) per tonne. Traded volume stood at 36,048 lots of 25 tonnes, slightly above the usual average of 35,000 lots.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014