KUALA LUMPUR, April 10: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed almost one per cent higher on Tuesday at new eight-year highs as strong exports and a decline in reserves boosted the market.

The benchmark third-month June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished up 21 ringgit, or 0.98 per cent, to 2,153 ringgit ($625) a ton, a level not seen since January 1999.

The contract hit a session high of 2,184 ringgit. Everyone is chasing palm oil, stocks are down and exports are picking up, one dealer said.

Malaysia's end-March palm oil stocks fell 10.61 per cent to 1.34 million tons as exports jumped almost 30 per cent in the month and production failed to keep pace, the official Malaysian Palm Oil Board said on Tuesday.

Other traded months rose between one and 30, except for November and May 2008 contract, which were slightly down.

Overall volume stood at 13,286 lots of 25 tons each. Malaysia's exports are picking up after months of slowdown because of strong demand from top buyers China and India.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-10 rose 38 per cent to 428,985 tons from 310,679 shipped between March 1 and 10, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.—Reuters