Palm oil jumped from its lowest level since February on a rally in other vegetable oils and expectations that exports from Malaysia, the world’s second-biggest grower, will recover in the remaining days of this month. Overseas shipments were down just 5% during the first half of May from a month earlier — after slumping 14% in the first 10 days — as purchases by countries such as China gathered momentum. Malaysian exports are recovering as shipments to China and the African continent have surged, said a trader. Exports from the Southeast Asian nation to China and Africa jumped 36% and 279%, respectively, in the first 15 days of this month from a month earlier, Intertek Testing Services data showed. Higher vegetable oil on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is also supporting palm futures in Kuala Lumpur, he said. Refined palm oil prices rose as much as 2% in China on Friday, while soybean oil rose 1.4%.Still, gains could be capped because of expectations of a rise in Malaysian output.( Source: Bloomberg)
