Credit: REUTERS/LIM HUEY TENGPalm almost 2% up at midday
Contract gains 9.4% so far this week
Hopes for supply recovery dashed as estimation shows no change
Updates midday prices, comment
SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a fourth straight session on Friday, climbing close to 2% on tighter supplies and costlier rival oils.
The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 75 ringgit, or 1.9%, to 4,064 ringgit ($989.29) a tonne at the midday break.
The contract has risen 9.4% this week and is on course for its biggest weekly gain since March 12.
Supporting prices were gains in rival oils on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Dalian Commodity Exchange, traders said.
"Strength from continuing gains in competing vegetable oils could bring palm towards the resistance level at 4,060-4,065 ringgit," a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.
CBOT soybean futures rose above $15 a bushel on Thursday for the first time since 2014 as soyoil, corn and wheat futures surged on fears of tightening global grain and vegetable oil supplies.
Soybean oil BOc1 was last up 1.2%.
Meanwhile on Dalian, soyoil contract DBYc1 rose 1.4%, while its palm oil contract DCPc1 gained 1.5%.
Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Dashed hopes for a recovery in palm supply further propped up prices.
The Southern Peninsula Palm Oil Millers' Association in Malaysia estimated production during April 1-20 will be unchanged from the previous month.
Palm oil is poised to break a resistance at 4,028 ringgit per tonne, and rise to 4,192 ringgit, Reuters analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
($1 = 4.1080 ringgit)
(Reporting by Fathin Ungku and Liz Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Shailesh Kuber)
((fathin.ungku@thomsonreuters.com))
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