KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose about 1 per cent to hit their highest in a week on Monday as strong export demand put the contract on track for a second straight session of gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 1pc at 2,662 ringgit ($618.64) a tonne at the close. It earlier rose to 2,681 ringgit, its highest since May 15.

Traded volumes stood at 43,548 lots of 25 tonnes each on Monday evening.

Palm oil shipments from Malaysia rose 20pc between May 1 and May 20 from a month earlier, data from Intertek Testing Services showed.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2017