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Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Friday, marking a third consecutive weekly gain, supported by stronger competing vegetable oils on the Dalian and Chicago exchanges.
The contract posted a weekly gain of 3.40%, closing at its highest level in 14 weeks.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rose 106 ringgit, or 2.52%, to close at 4,316 ringgit ($1,017.92) per tonne.
Darren Lim, a commodities strategist at Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Nova, said:
"Palm oil prices rose supported by strength in Chicago soybean oil and Dalian palm and soybean oil contracts, alongside expectations of a weaker ringgit due to a stronger US dollar."
The most active soybean oil contract on the Dalian exchange rose 1.34%, while the palm oil contract climbed 2.28%. Meanwhile, soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade gained 1%.
Palm oil tends to track price movements in competing vegetable oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oil market.
Separately, oil prices rose on Friday amid cautious trading, though they were on track for a slight weekly loss as investors weighed new European sanctions against Russia.
Strong oil prices make palm oil a more attractive feedstock for biofuel production.
According to independent inspection firm AmSpec Agri Malaysia, Malaysia's exports of palm oil products fell 5.3% during 1-15 July compared with the same period in June, while Intertek Testing Services reported a 6.2% decline.
Malaysia had earlier raised the reference price for crude palm oil for August, pushing the export duty up to 9% from 8.5% in July.
In Indonesia, biodiesel consumption reached 7.42 million kilolitres as of 16 July, equivalent to 47.5% of the quota set for 2025.
Indonesia's palm oil fund agency estimated that levies collected from palm oil exports will reach 30 trillion rupiah ($1.84 billion) this year, an amount sufficient to fund the country's biodiesel programme.
Source: Reuters