Palm rallies to record high on improving Oct exports

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures rose more than 2% on Wednesday to a record closing high, as October export data improved amid lacklustre production.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 122 ringgit, or 2.47%, to 5,066 ringgit ($1,217.79) a tonne.

The contract had earlier climbed to an intraday high of 2.95% to hit 5,090 ringgit.

Malaysia's palm oil exports during Oct. 1-20 fell between 7.8-14.7% from the same week in September, cargo surveyors said. This was an improvement from an 11-18% decline recorded during Oct. 1-15.

The Southern Peninsula Palm Oil Millers' Association (SPPOMA) estimated Oct. 1-15 production declined 0.2% from the month before in some parts of Malaysia, traders said on Monday.

Palm oil rises over 1%, tracking higher rival oils, crude

"With our stressed out production and Indonesia's move to curb the exports of crude palm oil, prices will remain defensive," said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

Palm remains relatively cheap compared to competing oils due to a worldwide shortage of edible oils, which will encourage buying from price sensitive markets like China and India to avoid food inflation, he added.

Indonesia is planning to "hit the brakes" on the export of all raw commodities in an effort to attract investment in onshore resource processing and create jobs, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 2.2%, while its palm oil contract gained 2%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were also up 1.8%.

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