Palm oil climbs

Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian palm oil futures rose over 1 percent on Friday to their highest in more than five weeks, tracking gains in related edible oils and crude oil, while a weaker ringgit also lent support.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.9 percent at 2,453 ringgit ($617.03) a tonne at the midday break.

Earlier in the session, it rose as much as 1.2 percent to 2,462 ringgit, its highest since April 10. Palm has added 3 percent so far this week, in what could be its second straight weekly gain.

Trading volume stood at 15,631 lots of 25 tonnes each at the midday break on Friday. "The palm market is up on soyoil´s upward move last night and a strong Dalian this morning," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures briefly going above $72 and Brent crude futures above $80 also brought about some buying.