31/01/2011 (IIFL) - Domestic refined soya oil futures gained massively on short covering lead by sharp gains in Malaysian palm oil futures. The NCDEX refined soya oil for the February delivery traded in the range of Rs. 659.90-653.45 per 10 kg. The contract ended the day higher by Rs. 5.55 or 0.85% at Rs. 658.65 per 10 kg and the open interest dipped 12.67% to 75890 tonnes, indicating short covering.

US Soya Oil traded higher in the early trading session with the March contract is currently trading higher at 89.42, up 0.08 cents in the electronic trading sessions.

Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's derivatives exchange rose sharply Monday amid persistent fears that heavy rains continuing in Malaysia's main southern state of Johor may cause further disruptions in harvesting and transportation of palm oil.

The benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange ended MYR109, or 2.9% higher, at MYR3,809 a metric ton after trading in a range of MYR3,730-MYR3,809/ton. External factors such as the strength in Dalian counterparts and the bullish outlook for crude oil amid concerns over turmoil in Egypt are also supporting palm oil prices

As per latest release from Cargo Surveyor Intertek Agri Services, Malaysia's palm oil exports during the January period declined by 3.6% to 12.90 lakh tonnes.