KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose more than 1 per cent in afternoon trading on Thursday after bullish forecasts at an industry conference in India.

Prices also gained support by Malaysia’s announcement that it would grant export duty exemptiuons for crude palm kernel oil and RBD palm kernel oil from October 1 until the end of next June to reduce stockpiles in the domestic market.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery was up 1.1pc by the close of the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange at 2,169 ringgit a tonne.

“Palm prices were supported by the bullish price forecasts during the conference,” one Kuala Lumpur-based trader said.

European crude palm oil prices are forecast to rise to $620 a tonne, or $570 free on board, by the second quarter of 2020 as stockpiles decline, James Fry, chairman of commodities consultancy LMC International, said on Thursday.

Another analyst had said on Wednesday that India’s palm oil imports in 2019/20 are likely to rise 2pc from a year earlier to a record high because consumption in the world’s biggest edible oil buyer is expected to expand more rapidly than local supplies.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2019