The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 12 ringgit higher, or 0.4pc, at 3,377 ringgit a tonne.
But a combination of declining output, crushing tax obligations and a hefty payroll burden have gradually weakened the company, which is a major source of federal budget revenues.
Mysteel consultancy's latest survey showed iron ore dispatched from Australia and Brazil fell for the second week over Dec. 7-13 by another 1 million tonnes from the prior week.