JAKARTA, Feb 23: Malaysian palm futures finished 2.5 per cent higher on Monday to end a five-day losing streak, underpinned by a rally in rival soybean prices, traders said.

The market was supported mainly because of strong Chicago (soybean prices). Other than that nothing much is happening, said a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based commodities brokerage.

The benchmark May contract rose 45 ringgit, or 2.5 per cent, to 1,880 ringgit ($515) per ton.

The price of the tropical oil -- used in various products from soap to biodiesel -- fell nearly 9 per cent last week, partly in response to falling soybean prices.

Other traded contracts rose between 15 and 26 ringgit.

Overall volume was 12,382 lots of 25 tons each. The market is bottoming at current levels. It should be able to reach 1,950 ringgit in the near term, another Malaysian trader said.

In the Malaysian physical market, palm oil for February and March deliveries was traded at 1,910-1,920 ringgit/ton in the southern region and at 1,900-1,920 ringgit/ton in the central region.

In Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, the Jakarta-based state marketing centre said it sold 2,000 tons of palm oil at 6,976 rupiah ($0.586) per kg, out of a total of 6,500 tons offered in a tender.

The centre, which normally sells palm oil from state plantations, did not hold a tender on Friday.

Producers in Medan -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s main palm oil export port -- did not hold a palm oil auction.

Meanwhile, refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 7,350 rupiah per kg, against 7,300-7,400 rupiah per kg on Friday. —Reuters