BANGKOK, Feb 22 : Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended higher on Thursday, backed by firm sentiment in other commodities, including gold and oil, as investors returned from the Lunar New Year holiday, traders said.

The benchmark third-month May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange settled at 1,944 ringgit ($556) a ton, up 19 ringgit from its close on Wednesday.

Other contracts ended between 11 and 19 ringgit higher with overall volume at 9,792 lots of 25 tons each.

The rise in many commodities futures, which rose across the board, especially gold and oil, were behind the rise in palm oil this afternoon, a Malaysian trader said.

Speculative buying pushed prices higher amid strong sentiment after the long holiday, traders said.

The rise of soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade, up 0.43 cent higher at 30.12 cents per lb, also lent support to palm oil, they said.

Malaysian palm oil usually follows the US soyoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from food and cosmetics to biodiesel.

Palm oil prices were likely to rise to test key support at 1,980 ringgit on Friday, traders said.—Reuters