Palm oil higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures climbed to their highest in near three weeks on Tuesday, buoyed by overnight strength in related edible oils and on technical gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange climbed 0.2 percent to 2,767 ringgit ($655.30) a tonne at the midday break, poised for a fifth straight session of gains.

Earlier in the session, it touched 2,768 ringgit, its strongest since September 27. Traded volumes stood at 24,371 lots of 25 tonnes each at the midday break. “Palm is up as the external market remains firm,” said a futures trader from Kuala Lumpur, referring to soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade.