10/4/07  (Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures in Malaysia, the world's largest producer, rose for a third day after the release of figures showing that a bigger-than-expected gain in exports in March pushed stockpiles to their lowest level in 19 months.

The country's overseas shipments surged 30 percent to 1.05 million metric tons last month, and stockpiles fell 11 percent to 1.34 million tons, the Palm Oil Board said on its Web site. The rise in exports was the first gain in five months.

``The statistics are better than our expectation,'' Vince Ng, an analyst at Kaf-Seagroatt and Campbell Bhd., said from Kuala Lumpur. It ``should be bullish for the palm oil market.''

Palm oil for delivery in June on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the most actively traded contract, gained as much as 16 ringgit, or 0.8 percent, to 2,148 ringgit ($623) a ton, erasing a loss of as much 20 ringgit. The contract, which has risen to its highest level since January 1999, traded at 2,146 ringgit a ton at 3:22 p.m. local time.

Palm oil, 85 percent of which is harvested in Malaysia and Indonesia, had gained 51 percent in the past year amid growing demand for its use as a cooking oil in China and India, the world's two most populous nations. The commodity is also used to make chemicals for soaps and as an alternative fuel.

The so-called stocks-to-exports ratio in Malaysia has fallen to 1.28 compared with a 10-year average of 1.3, indicating underlying tightness, Ng said.

A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price for delivery by a specific date.