Palm rallies 4% to record high on stronger crude, supply squeeze

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures jumped as much as 4% on Tuesday, hitting a record of 4,786 ringgit a tonne on stronger crude oil prices and as market surveys pointed to tightening September stockpiles.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 3.38% at 4,738 ringgit ($1,134.17) a tonne.

Sathia Varqa, Palm Oil Analytics co-founder, attributed the jump to external factors but said buying will be limited as big buyers from China are on a week-long holiday.

Palm jumped "mainly on support from a surge in Brent crude oil prices, which hit a fresh three-year high, and on report of shortage of canola causing importers to turn to other oils boosting prospect of palm oil exports," he said.

With the scant available Canadian canola fetching high prices, customers of the world's biggest canola exporter are leaning more heavily on smaller-producing countries or alternative vegetable oils such as palm and soybean oil.

Palm oil rose over 1% as polls show tightening Sept stockpile

Brent crude oil futures stuck near three-year highs after the OPEC+ supplier group decided to stick to a gradual output increase plan rather than fully opening the taps.

Stronger crude futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Malaysia's palm oil inventories at the end of September are expected to ease slightly from a 14-month peak hit in the previous month, as skyrocketing exports offset a small rise in production, according to a Reuters poll.

Palm oil stockpiles in the world's second-largest producer likely fell 0.36% to 1.87 million tonnes, while production was seen rising 2.8% to 1.75 million tonnes.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will release official data on Oct. 11.

Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 1%. The Dalian commodity exchange is closed until Thursday for a public holiday.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.