KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures firmed for a second consecutive day on Monday, tracking higher rival oils after US soyabean supplies were projected to remain tight into 2022, but expectations of rising palm oil output limited gains. The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 18 ringgit, or 0.51%, higher at 3,540 ringgit ($876.24) a tonne. It traded as high as 2.7% during the session.

Tight supply of palm and other key edible oils, combined with a higher Indonesian export levy to fund its biodiesel programme has spurred monthly crude palm oil prices, Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CGS-CIMB Research, said in a note.

Global edible oil supplies are expected to recover in the second half of the year, though a labour crunch in Malaysia, volatile weather and slow re-planting could keep crude palm oil prices above their historical 10-year average in 2021/2022, Ng said.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Feb. 1 to 20 rose between 10.3% to 14.9% from the same period in January, according to cargo surveyors.

Industry groups have forecast output during the same period to rise as much as 15%, according to traders.

US stockpiles of soyabeans are expected to increase slightly by the end of the 2021/22 marketing year, the US Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

Soyaoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.06%. Dalian’s most-active soyaoil contract gained 2% while its palm oil contract rose 2.3%. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.