JAKARTA, Jan 22: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 3.4 per cent on Thursday to end at a one-week high, fuelled by rising crude oil prices and short-covering in late trade, traders said.

The market had been quiet for most of the day as a holiday mood settled in ahead of Chinese New Year holiday before the short-covering activities kicked in, they said.

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange will be closed next Monday and Tuesday.

The benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 61 ringgit, or 3.4 per cent, to 1,870 ringgit ($518) per ton, the highest finising since Jan. 15.

Other traded contracts rose between 51 ringgit and 66 ringgit. The overall volume was 12,483 lots of 25 tons each, compared to just 1,108 lots by midday break.

Oil prices tend to hold some sway over vegetable oil markets as petroleum diesel loosely competes with biodiesel.

Palm oil, used in products ranging from biscuits to biofuels, have surged 40 per cent from an Oct. 28 low of 1,331 ringgit on falling stocks but failed to breach the key 2,000 ringgit level due to weaker exports and volatile external markets.

The March soyaoil contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 1.4 per cent to 34.44 cents per pound.

In Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, the state marketing centre said it sold the entire 4,000 tons of crude palm it offered, at a top price of 6,215 rupiah ($0.56) per kg, up from 6,210 rupiah on Wednesday.

Producers in Medan -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia’s key palm oil export port -- sold palm oil at 6,210-6,220 rupiah per kg. They did not hold a palm oil tender on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, refiners in Jakarta sold refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, used as cooking oil, at 6,600-6,625 rupiah per kg, up from 6,550 rupiah per kg on Wednesday. —Reuters