Palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia climbed for the first time in six months as output bounced back, according to a survey, allaying worries that adverse weather will continue to hit supply in the second-biggest grower. The estimate may put further pressure on benchmark palm oil futures, which have plummeted about 16% in Kuala Lumpur from a peak in November. The figures may disappoint some bullish investors who were betting that heavy rains and floods in the Southeast Asian nation earlier this year would hamper harvesting and transportation activities for a longer period. Malaysian inventories rose 3.3% from a month earlier to 1.56 million tons in March, according to the median of 11 estimates in the Bloomberg survey of plantation executives, traders and analysts. Production is expected to have jumped 10% to 1.31 million tons, the biggest advance since July and a recovery after falling for six months. Exports probably rose 3% to 1.03 million tons, the survey showed. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will publish its data on April 10. (Source: Bloomberg)
