Palm oil futures tempered losses after export data showed Malaysian exports surging so far this month, following the scrapping of export levies, reducing the blow from a separate report showing inventories at a 17-month high. Palm oil futures dropped temporarily below 2,000 ringgit a tonne in Kuala Lumpur, falling 2%, after the Malaysia Palm Oil Board revealed that Malaysian inventories of the vegetable oil � in crude and processed form combined � had hit 2.05m tonnes last month. That was up 22% on July's figure � the highest month-on-month increase since 2012 � and represented the highest inventories since March last year. The figure was also above market expectations for stocks of 1.96m tonnes. Tax axed However, futures recovered all but 1 ringgit of their losses, ending at 2,033 ringgit a tonne, as investors digested separate statistics, from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services showing a spike in Malaysian palm exports so far this month. Shipments for the first 10 days of September, at 487,955 tonnes, were 41% higher than in the same period of August , a reflection of Malaysia's decision to scrap export taxes in an effort to support what is a key industry for the country, the second-ranked palm oil producer and exporter, after Indonesia. Malaysia's government, which had previously proposed a 4.5% level for September, has ditched taxes for this month and next, and said that it will assess later whether duties should be withheld for further months too. 'Extremely encouraging' The Intertek data were termed "extremely encouraging" by Edward Hugo, analyst at London broker VSA Capital. "It is clear that the lower prices and the recent removal of Malaysian export tax for September and October are having an impact," he said, adding that "we expect this to continue". Indeed, Mr Hugo voiced the prospect that a drop in palm oil futures last week to a five-year low of 1,914 ringgit a tonne may have marked a nadir. "The last few days have seen a slight uptick in pricing and share prices of South East Asian-listed palm oil producers have been positively impacted. "This may be an indication that we have reached the bottom in the palm oil pricing downturn." Production record Exports last month dropped 0.4% month on month to 1.44m tonnes, the weakest August figure since 2010, if dropping less than the market had expected, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board data showed. However, production hit a record 2.03m tonnes, rising by 22% from July, a far bigger increase than the market had expected, and up 17.1% year on year. Malaysian palm oil output, which influential analysis group Godrej sees hitting a record 19.7m-19.9m tonnes this year, is so far running 8.1% ahead of last year's production. However, some believe that Malaysian output, which typically peaks in September-October, will see an unusually large late-year seasonal decline, a hangover from dryness early in 2014. |