KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose over one per cent on Tuesday, supported by data released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showing a decline in August stockpiles while exports rose.

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was last up 1pc at 2,222 ringgit per tonne at the close of trade. It earlier rose as much as 1.5pc to 2,233 ringgit, its strongest level in four days.

“Palm oil prices were up on the MPOB August data release and on supportive external markets,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based futures trader. He, however, said weaker export figures for the first 10 days of September from cargo surveyors could weigh on the market.

Malaysia’s palm oil stockpiles for end-August declined 5.3pc from the previous month to 2.25 million tonnes, industry regulator MPOB reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s palm oil output in August gained 4.6pc to 1.82 million tonnes from the previous month, while exports rose 16.4pc from July to 1.73 million tonnes.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019