KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures briefly touched a five-week top on Wednesday on worries an El Nino weather pattern would curb yields, but expectations of weaker export demand in the second half of the month kept a lid on gains.

Forecasts by weather bureaus in Japan and Australia on Tuesday confirmed the return of the El Nino this year.

The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange rose to 2,233 ringgit a tonne in early trade, the highest since April 6. But by the day’s close, palm had dropped 1.3 per cent to 2,197 ringgit ($610.87), the first drop in three days.

Total traded volume stood at 45,171 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the average 35,000 lots.

Traders are now waiting for indications on the strength of export demand for further cues.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2015

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