Malaysian palm oil posts weekly gain

JAKARTA, Mar 15 (Reuters): Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday and logged a second consecutive week of gains, as a surge in crude oil prices amid the Middle East conflict boosted demand for biodiesel feedstock.
The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 23 ringgit, or 0.51 per cent, at 4,564 ringgit (USD 1,159.26) a metric ton by the close, and rose 4.51 per cent for the week.
The weekly advance was underpinned by a more than 9 per cent surge on Monday, the biggest daily jump in three years. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract advanced 0.53percent, while its palm oil contract rose 0.62 per cent. Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.55 per cent.
Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Oil prices extended their climb on Friday and were on track for weekly gains as disruptions in the Gulf from the Middle East war outweighed US and International Energy Agency measures to ease supply concerns.
Meanwhile, APROBI, Indonesia's biofuel producers association, expects a road test for 50percent palm-based biodiesel blending, or B50, to be concluded no earlier than the energy ministry's previous target of June or July.
Indonesia's crude palm oil output reached 51.66 million metric tons in 2025, up 7.3 per cent compared to the previous year, palm oil association GAPKI said.
India's palm oil imports jumped 11 per cent to a six-month high in February, as a wider discount versus rival oils prompted refiners to boost purchases and curb imports of sunflower oil.