BLBG:Palm Oil Stockpiles in Malaysia at 10-Month Low Seen Positive
Palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, fell the most in more than two years to a 10-month low in April as exports outpaced production, according to official data.
Inventories dropped 11 percent to 1.93 million metric tons last month from 2.17 million tons in March, the lowest level since June, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said today. This was less than the median estimate of 2.06 million tons in a Bloomberg survey. Output climbed 3.1 percent to 1.37 million tons, while exports dropped 5.6 percent to 1.45 million tons, the board said.
“It’s encouraging, but in China and India, inventories are still high,” said Ben Santoso, an analyst at DBS Vickers Securities Pte in Singapore. Prices will not recover as much as expected, he said.
Stockpiles may continue to decline in May to 1.89 million tons and increase in June to 1.96 million tons, before moving back above 2 million tons in the second half of the year as production increases, Santoso said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Kuala Lumpur at rpakiam@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net