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Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Friday, marking a sixth consecutive weekly gain despite soft demand in key markets.
The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rose 11 ringgit, or 0.27%, to 4,115 ringgit ($968.24) a tonne, its highest close since 15 April.
The contract posted a weekly gain of 4.79%.
Paramalingam Supramaniam, a director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari, said: "Trading volumes were relatively thin, and prices have already priced in most of the domestic and external factors."
He added: "Going forward, sustaining the current trend will require fresh supportive news. Demand will be particularly crucial in July, as the current market recovery has been driven purely by external factors and has yet to be matched by a strong pickup in demand."
The most-active soybean oil contract on the Dalian exchange rose 0.44%, while the CPO1! palm oil contract gained 0.05%. Soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (ZL1!) rose 1.5%.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of competing vegetable oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Shipping surveyors estimated that Malaysian palm oil product exports for 1-20 June rose by between 10.9% and 14.3% compared with the same period last month.
Crude oil prices eased but remained on track for a third straight weekly gain, after the White House deferred a decision on US involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Weaker crude oil futures reduce palm oil's appeal as a feedstock for biodiesel production.
The Malaysian ringgit, the currency in which palm oil is traded, rose 0.16% against the US dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Source: Reuters