KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended 1.5 per cent higher on Friday as rising prices of rival soyabean oil and expectations of strong demand prompted players to cover short positions ahead of the weekend.

The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 39 ringgit, or 1.5 percent, to 2,644 ringgit ($776) a ton.

Palm oil is rising to catch up with soyabean oil’s gains, said one trader. “Coupled with expectations of strong export demand for the whole of September, palm oil is in a bullish mode. Other traded months rose between 10 and 50 ringgit in overall volume of 9,338 lots of 25 tons each.

Traders said the market awaited export estimates for September, due to be issued on Monday by cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance.

Palm oil, in high demand for making sweetmeats and other delicacies during the current festival season in Asia, is just 4.3 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in June.

Palm oil reserves in Malaysia are forecast to rise at a slower pace in September because of strong exports and only a marginal increase in production, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Palm oil stocks at the end of September are expected to rise 4.8 per cent to 1.52 million tons from 1.45 million tons in August, a median estimate of five plantation houses showed.

December palm oil on Singapore’s Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange was untraded.

In the Malaysian physical market, crude palm oil for September and October shipments in the southern region was quoted at 2,720/2,730 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 2,720 and 2,730 ringgit.—Reuters