19.12.2023 (Business Recorder) - NEW DELHI: Malaysian palm oil futures settled higher on Monday as falling inventories and concerns over output due to dry weather conditions pushed up prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 35 ringgit, or 0.94%, to close at 3,746 ringgit.

“Concerns over palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia and falling stock levels ensured that prices remain firm,” said a Mumbai-based dealer.

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks at the end of November fell for the first time in seven months as production slumped more than exports, data from the industry regulator showed on Tuesday. However, slowing exports capped gains.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in the first half of December fell 13.6% month-on-month to 591,490 metric tons, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Friday. Soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.4%. Indonesia plans to set its crude palm oil reference price at $767.51 per metric ton for the Dec. 16-31 period, a trade ministry official said last week, down from $795.14 in the first half of the month.

India’s palm oil imports in November jumped to a near three-month high, up nearly 23% from October, as refiners preferred the tropical oil over rival soy oil and sunflower oil due to steep discounts, a leading trade body said.

Palm oil may bounce to 3,748 ringgit per metric ton, driven by a wave c, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. Oil rose on Monday as attacks by the Houthis on ships in the Red Sea raised concerns of oil supply disruptions and Russia’s plan to lower exports in December provided additional support.

Asia stocks slipped on Monday in a subdued start to a week where Japan’s central bank might edge further away from its uber-easy policies, while a key reading on US inflation is expected to underpin market pricing of interest rate cuts there.

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