KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s derivatives exchange is due to begin night trading for its key palm oil futures contract and other products on Monday, allowing investors to hedge market movements during U.S and European hours.
The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (BMD) manages Malaysia’s crude palm oil futures contract, which sets the global price benchmark for the world’s cheapest and most widely used edible oil.
The contract has seen volatile trading in recent sessions, swayed by concerns over renewed lockdowns from the Omicron coronavirus variant.
“After-Hours Trading is important for hedging in the highly volatile crude palm oil market,” Samuel Ho, Chief Executive Officer of BMD said in a statement.
“Market participants will now have an avenue to better manage their risk exposure based on real-time global developments,” Ho said.
The night trading session will operate from 9pm to 11.30pm local time, Monday to Thursday.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by John Geddie)
