KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18: Malaysian palm oil futures held modestly firmer on Tuesday but fears that export growth may not keep up with ballooning stockpiles continued to grip the market.

Palm oil, used in products from biscuits to biofuels, was down 68 per cent from March's record peak of 4,486 ringgit on a combination of faltering crude oil, rising output and a deepening global recession that threatens demand.

The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended up 1 ringgit ringgit at 1,436 ringgit ($396) per ton.

Other traded months on Bursa Malaysia traded between marginal declines and gains. Trading volume stood at 11,206 lots of 25 tons each.

Traders say total exports for November will have to reach between 1.4 and 1.5 million tons in order to boost prices and wear down inventories, which hit a record 2.09 million tons at the end of October.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Nov. 1-15 rose 11.30 per cent to 623,530 tons, from 560,210 tons shipped between Oct. 1 and 15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.

US soyaoil for December delivery and the most-active January contract on Dalian Commodity Exchange inched lower in late Asian trade.

In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for both November and December shipments in the southern region saw bids and offers at 1,410/1,420 ringgit.

Trades were done between 1,400 and 1,420 ringgit.

In Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, the state marketing centre said it had sold 5,500 tons of crude palm oil at a top price of 4,828 rupiah ($0.41) per kg compared to 4,750 rupiah on Monday.

The centre normally sells palm oil from state plantations.

Producers in Medan -- home to Belawan port, Indonesia's key port for palm oil exports -- sold palm oil at 4,760-4,860 rupiah per kg.

Refiners in Jakarta sold refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein, which is used in cooking oil, at 5,550-5,600 rupiah per kg, against about 5,550 rupiah per kg on Monday.

—Reuters