Palm oil extends gains

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday and were headed for a third consecutive session of gains, on the back of strength in soyoil markets, solid export data from cargo surveyors and a weaker ringgit.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.5 percent at 2,827 ringgit ($666.59) a tonne. It has risen more than 3 percent so far in the week, in what could be its sharpest gain in six weeks.

Traded volumes stood at 16,700 lots of 25 tonnes each at the midday break on Friday. "Palm oil is up due to strong soybean oil (market)," said a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader, referring to the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Dalian Commodity Exchange.