KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil futures for third month delivery climbed to a high of RM3,330 as investors assessed lower import levies in top buyer India and dwindling Malaysian exports of the tropical oil.

Prices are moving in a choppy range, and this will continue until there’s more clarity on supplies in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) report next week, said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, head of trading and hedging strategies at Kaleesuwari Intercontinental.

The industry regulator will release data on stockpiles, production and exports in the No. 2 grower on Dec. 10.

India’s duty cut is supporting palm oil, while weaker exports and the end of Malaysia’s tax exemption on crude palm oil in December are capping gains, Thiagarajan said.

Futures in Kuala Lumpur climbed as much as 0.8% in the morning session, after falling by the same amount. Prices rallied 10% in November and are trading near their highest in eight years.

Malaysia has no plans to extend a tax exemption on crude palm oil exports beyond 2020. This could prevent any surge in purchases by India, which last week slashed its import levies on the crude grade.

Top grower Indonesia on Monday hiked CPO export taxes to $33 a ton in December, from $3 this month, a move that may further curb buying interest from key importers.

Palm oil exports from Malaysia fell about 19% in November from a month earlier, according to data from independent cargo surveyor SGS Malaysia, as shipments to India and Pakistan slumped. – Bloomberg

Source : The Star