29/12/2012 (The News International) - Malaysian palm oil futures slid off a near two-month high hit earlier on Friday, but remained on track for a second straight weekly gain as traders expect record stocks in the world’s No.2 producer to ease on lower production and higher shipments.

Exports rose slightly for the first 25 days of December from the same period a month ago, thanks to larger purchases from India and the United States, cargo surveyor data showed.

On top of that, heavy rains that could bring floods to key oil palm producing regions in the Southeast Asian country sparked concerns of supply disruptions, raising hopes that inventory levels could fall in December.

“The current growing concern is the monsoon that is hitting hard on the east coast and southern part of Malaysia. This theme is likely to play out at least until the second week of January,” said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

“On the macroeconomic front, it seems like the current push towards the 2,500-ringgit level has brushed aside concerns of a fiscal cliff,” he added.

US President Barack Obama and lawmakers are launching a last round of talks to reach a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff before a New Year’s deadline, failing which the world’s largest economy may slip back into recession and hurt global commodity demand.