KUALA LUMPUR, March 12: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed mixed on Tuesday after choppy trading, lifted by late short covering.

Dealers said disappointment over imports by main buyers India and Pakistan in the first 10 days of March and slightly larger-than-expected Malaysian palm oil stocks at the end of February had weighed on prices earlier in the day.

Palm oil futures were up two ringgit to down two ringgit, with the benchmark third-month May futures ending one ringgit higher at 1,155 ringgit ($303.95) a ton after trading as low as 1,135.

The official Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said end-February palm oil stocks were up 2.84 per cent to 1.28 million tons against 1.25 million tons at end-January.

Influential private forecaster Ivan Wong had earlier estimated the stocks at 1.27 million tons.

Malaysia’s crude palm oil output fell 17.28 per cent to 773,341 tons in February from 934,897 tons in January, while exports in February stood at 663,270 tons, down from 840,138 tons a month earlier, MPOB said.

Although Malaysia’s exports in March 1-10 doubled to 302,955 tons from 150,277 in February 1-10, India and Pakistan took only 16,150 and 15,500 tons respectively.

China has announced it will raise its import quota of palm oil to 2.4 million tons this year from 1.4 million tons last year.

The March contract for the southern and central regions saw bids at 1,140 ringgit a ton versus offers at 1,145. Trade was reported at 1,140 ringgit for central.

The April contract for south and central saw bids at 1,150 ringgit against offers at 1,155. South was done at 1,150 ringgit.—Reuters