Palm oil rises for third session, logs weekly gain in Malaysia

Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a third straight session on Friday and logged a weekly gain, buoyed by strength in rival Dalian contracts, though weaker crude oil prices, a firmer ringgit and demand concerns capped the rise. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 72 ringgit, or 1.86% higher at 3,948 ringgit ($940.00) a metric ton. The contract gained 3.5% this week after falling for two consecutive weeks. The recent strength in Malaysian palm oil futures means they have traded at a premium against other oils such as Northwest Europe sunflower oil and U.S. soybean oil, Maybank Research analyst Ong Chee Ting said in a note. “However, the current high crude palm oil price is unsustainable as a wider discount against other major oils is needed to sustain demand, especially if the industry’s peak output has been pushed back to Q4.” Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 0.82%, while its palm oil ...