Palm oil futures in Malaysia advanced for a third day, surging as much as 3.1 per cent, after stockpiles last month dropped faster than output rose, easing investors’ concerns about an oversupply.
Stockpiles declined 13 per cent to 1.36 million metric tons, the lowest level since July 2007, according to figures from the nation’s palm oil board released on April 10. Output, which typically increases toward and during the second half, gained 7.4 per cent to 1.28 million tons.
Stockpiles “are now at safe levels to go through the coming peak production cycle,” ECMLibra Investment Research said in a report. Stockpiles in Malaysia are now about 40 per cent below November’s record.
Palm oil for June delivery on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 2.6 per cent to RM2,359 (US$652) a ton at 11:55 am in Kuala Lumpur. Earlier, the contract reached RM2,371, the highest in almost seven months.
To be sure, HwangDBS Vickers said in a report that prices may drop “gradually in the second half” as “we expect palm oil supply to continue to recover.” March’s gain in output was the first month-on-month rise in four months and may signal that so-called tree stress after record output in 2008 is easing.
Malaysia is the world’s largest palm oil producer after Indonesia, and its monthly data is watched by investors for trends in output and demand. Indonesia doesn’t release output and stockpile data for the crop, used in foods and fuels. - Bloomberg
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