Palm gains

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a fifth straight session on Friday on support from a weaker ringgit and strength in related edible oils.

Weakness in the ringgit, palm oil´s currency of trade, typically lends support to the edible oil by making it cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. The ringgit has weakened as much as 0.7 percent against the dollar since Tuesday, and was last down 0.1 percent at 3.9210 per dollar around Friday noon.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange hit its highest since March 7 and was up 0.5 percent at 2,454 ringgit ($625.86) a tonne at the midday break. The contract hit a more than one-and-a-half-year low on Monday, and has gained 3.3 percent so far this week.