KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 1.5 per centon Wednesday as higher prices of rival soybean oil and crude oil lifted the market, dealers said.

But fears that palm oil reserves are set to surge as production stages a strong recovery kept a lid on gains.

The benchmark November contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 36 ringgit, or 1.5 per cent, at 2,495 ringgit ($712) a ton.

The market is holding up as soyaoil was higher overnight and crude oil has broken past $75 a barrel, one dealer said.

Other traded months rose between 28 and 40 ringgit in overall trade of 9,344 lots of 25 tons each.

CBOT soyaoil will push the palm oil prices up but the market is not on fire because higher end-stock due to rising production will continue to pull down prices, another trader said.

Palm oil, used in products ranging from confectioneries and cosmetics to biofuels is nearly 10 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in June.

Oil held above $75 on Wednesday, within sight of an all-time high, as investors balanced tightening US crude stocks against Opec’s reluctance to boost supplies when it meets next week.

Malaysia’s August palm oil exports rose 14 per cent to 1,236,540 tons from 1,084,062 tons shipped in July, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Saturday.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports in the same period rose 15.9 per cent to 1,264,422 tons.—Reuters