Malaysian palm oil futures hovered near MYR 3,880 per tonne, continuing their bullish traction for the third session as rival oils were higher. Meanwhile, crude oil prices held their gains amid shipping disruptions in the Red Sea. Moreover, traders continued to bet that demand will be robust ahead of the Ramadan fasting month and Eid-al Fitr festival. Separately, an extended fall in production may occur in February due to unfavorable weather in top-producing countries, with the Feb 1-20 output data due later this week. Capping the upside momentum was vigilance ahead of PMIs readings for February in key buyer China. Meantime, worries over deteriorating exports emerged after independent inspection company AmSpec Agri said shipments of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-25 tumbled 14.3% from the same period in January to 863,108 tons. Separately, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services noted exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1-25 sank 10.7% to 951,409 metric tons.
