KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 1 per cent on Wednesday due to expectations of rising inventories in Malaysia and a change in Indonesia’s export levy rules.

Indonesia relaxed rules on palm oil levies and derivative products effective immediately following a drop in prices, the country’s finance ministry said on Wednesday.

It will not collect levies from palm exporters when prices are below $570 per tonne, but will charge $10-$25 a tonne once prices are in a range of $570-$619 per tonne.

The levy will rise to $20-$50 when prices hit above $619 per tonne. The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1.2pc to 1,995 ringgit ($480.43) a tonne by the close of trade, after earlier dropping as much as 1.5pc to 1,990 ringgit.

Trading volumes stood at 27,937 lots of 25 tonnes each.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2018