KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Tuesday after hitting a three-month low last week, but high stockpiles of the vegetable oil will likely continue to put pressure on prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1.1 per cent to 2,129 ringgit ($522.45) a tonne.

It extended a 1.8pc gain on Monday after posting a third weekly loss last week.

Another trader in Kuala Lumpur said buyers did not find the prices attractive enough to notably boost demand.

“It is true that prices are low, but people believe there is still room for them to go down. There is enough oil and production is good,” the trader said.

Stockpiles remain elevated and demand subdued, keeping prices in check, both traders said. A bumper harvest last year in Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s major producers, had flushed the market with palm oil and sent prices tumbling.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2019