Palm oil is set to record a weekly gain as it rises against strong Dalian competitors

The price of Malaysian palm oils rose on Friday and was set to gain for a?second week in a row, as the prices of rival edible oils were also rising at 'Dalian.

By Friday's midday, the benchmark palm oil contract for?May delivery at the Bursa Derivatives Exchange had gained 56 ringgit or 1.23% to 4,597 Ringgit ($1,169.42).

The weekly gain is 5.27%. Dalian's palm oil contract increased 1.34% on Friday while the most active soyoil contract gained 1.27 %. Soyoil traded on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.04%.

Palm oil follows the price movement of other edible oils as it competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oils markets. The oil prices rose on Friday despite U.S. efforts to calm supply concerns by issuing 30-day licenses to countries for the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are stranded in the sea. Indonesia's APROBI biofuel producers' association expects a road-test for 50% palm biodiesel blend, or B50 to be completed no sooner than the previous energy ministry target of June/July. Indonesia's crude palm oil production will reach 51.66 millions metric tons by 2025. This is an increase of 7.3% over the previous year. India's palm-oil imports rose 11% in February to a?six-month high, after refiners increased purchases to curb sunflower oil imports. Malaysia's crude?palm-oil reference price has been raised to 9.5%. This change is reflected in a circular posted on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board site.

According to Wang Tao, a technical analyst, palm oil could break through a resistance level of 4,615 Ringgit per metric tonne and move up to 4,657-4.685 Ringgit.

(source: Reuters)