UALA LUMPUR, June 18: Malaysian palm oil futures rose to near three-month highs on Tuesday as demand for the tropical oil spiked ahead of a Muslim holy festival, raising investors’ expectations that stocks in the No.2 producer will ease.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil in the first half of June surged as much as 19 per cent as buyers stocked up for Ramadan that falls in July. During Ramadan, communal feasting typically drives up consumption of the vegetable oil. “We are moving into the festive season and demand is expected to pick up from Pakistan, India and the Middle East,” said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.

“Production is not coping with the exports, so traders expect end-stocks to go down further in June,” he added.

The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.2pc higher at 2,466 ringgit ($781) per tonne on Tuesday. Prices had earlier climbed to 2,480 ringgit, the highest level since March 25.—Reuters