JAKARTA, Nov 1: Malaysian palm oil futures hit a fresh one-year high on Friday, as strong Asian demand coupled with lower production expectations supported prices for a fifth consecutive session.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia, which account for the lion’s share of global palm oil production, are entering their monsoon weather season, traders and analysts say, with output also likely to be dented by a lower production cycle as yields have eased from last year.

The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended 1.2 per cent higher at 2,623 ringgit ($830) per tonne.

Total traded volume stood at 40,821 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the usual 35,000 lots.

“Demand should remain fairly stable in view of the upcoming festive events like Chinese New Year and rising biodiesel mandates in Indonesia,” CIMB Analyst Ivy Ng said in a note.

“The improvement in CPO (crude palm oil) price could be sustained into early 2014.”

Also supporting palm prices, said one analyst, was a new regulation in Indonesia, which caps palm plantation areas at 100,000 hectares.—Reuters