Lang
Malaysian palm oil futures edged up slightly on Friday but still logged a weekly loss, as profit-taking and sluggish demand from major importing countries kept the market under pressure.
The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 39 ringgit, or 0.86%, to close at 4,578 ringgit ($1,030.38) per tonne.
The contract fell 1.02% for the week.
Crude palm oil came under pressure from profit-taking as it was forced to narrow its wide price gap with competing oils, said Anilkumar Bagani, head of research at Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage Sunvin Group.
"Persistently weak demand in importing countries is also a concern for palm oil right now, especially at a time when exports are not improving either," he said.
The most-active soyoil contract on China's Dalian exchange rose 2.02%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.82%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.61%.
Palm oil tracks price movements of competing vegetable oils, as it competes for market share in the global vegetable oils market.
Cargo surveyors are expected to release their export estimates for 1-15 March on Saturday.
Oil prices rebounded to recoup some of the previous session's losses, which had exceeded 1%, partly due to diminishing prospects for a swift end to the war in Ukraine that could bring more Russian energy supplies back to the market.
Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive feedstock option for biodiesel production.
The ringgit, palm oil's trading currency, weakened 0.18% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.