Malaysia palm oil stocks hit nearly 2-year low in Feb as output drops

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks fell for a fifth month in February to their lowest in 22 months as production declined, outweighing a reduction in exports, data from the industry regulator showed on Monday. The drop in stocks in the world’s second-largest palm oil producer after Indonesia could support benchmark futures FCPO1!, traders said, even as the tropical oil’s premium over soyoil reduces demand from price-sensitive importing countries. Malaysia’s palm oil stocks at the end of February fell 4.31% from the previous month to 1.51 million metric tons, the lowest level since April 2023, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, or MPOB. Crude palm oil production in February fell 4.16% to 1.19 million tons, the lowest level in three years, after floods disrupted production. Palm oil exports fell 16.27% to hit 4-year low of 1 million tons, it said. A Reuters survey had forecast inventories at 1.48 million tons, with output seen at 1.16 million tons and exports at 1.05 million ...