The Star Online (2709/2018) - JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures were headed for a third day of gains on Wednesday, but the rally may lose steam on concerns about rising stockpiles, traders said.

The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.32 percent to 2,188 ringgit ($528.50) per tonne by the midday break.

Palm oil posted a combined 1.8 percent gain in the previous two sessions, after hitting a three-year low last week.

Trading volumes stood at 15,598 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon.

"The market is looking for direction. Exports data from Malaysia look good, but at the same time production is also rising," a palm oil trader in Kuala Lumpur said.

"This raises concerns that stocks will increase further when demand is still not very strong."

Shipments of palm oil from Malaysia, the world's top palm oil exporter, in the Sept. 1-25 period rose 64.2 percent from a month earlier, data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services showed on Tuesday.

In related oils, the Chicago September soybean oil contract rose 0.04 percent, while the January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the Dalian January palm oil contract gained 0.6 percent.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. - Reuters