KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10): Malaysian November palm oil inventory rose 5.16% on month to 2.28 million tonnes, fuelled by a fall in the export of the commodity,
according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

In a statement today, MPOB said inventory, comprising crude palm oil (CPO) and processed palm oil, rose despite lower CPO output.
 
CPO production fell 7.52% to 1.75 million tonnes in November while palm oil exports dipped 6.11% to 1.51 million tonnes.

November inventory of 2.28 million tonnes compares with a median forecast of 2.29 million tonnes, based on a Reuters survey.

The Reuters forecast is a 21-month high since February 2013.

Earlier, Reuters reported that palm oil stocks at end-November likely hit its highest in 21 months as production did not ease as much as initially expected, and instead outstripped export demand.

The addition of stocks in the world's No.2 grower comes after the industry pegged inventories to have peaked in October, and may add further pressure to benchmark Malaysian prices that were hammered by steep losses in crude oil markets this week

Today, Malaysian CPO futures gained momentum lately despite a continuous slump in crude oil prices.

A possible reason for the CPO price rise is the weaker ringgit versus the US dollar. A weaker ringgit prices Malaysian CPO more attractively to world buyers.

February 2015 CPO climbed to RM2,148 a tonne so far today from RM2,130 yesterday. These prices compare to RM2,066 on August 29 this year.