KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's palm oil stockpile rose 8.79 percent month-on-month to 1.94 million tonnes in August, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said on Monday.
The production for the month fell 0.9 percent month-on-month to 1.81 million tonnes, while the export rose 6.43 percent to 1.49 million tonnes, according to the industry regulator.
The August palm oil stockpile is within analysts expectations. RHB Research Institute's regional plantation head Hoe Lee Leng told Xinhua that the only surprise for her was a slight dip of the palm oil production in August when compared with July.
However, she expected it to normalize in the next few months as September and October are normally the peak season for palm oil production.
Although crude palm oil (CPO) price rebounded recently, she maintained her full year palm oil prices forecast at 2,600 ringgit (619 U.S. dollars) per tonne.
"The rebound might due to the soybean prices movement, and the weather issue in the U.S. and South America. But this should be a short-term phenomenon, we should see the price to normalize," she added.
According to MPOB, CPO price stood at 2,757 ringgit per tonne as of Sept. 8. It had risen 6 percent when compared with Aug. 8.
Public Investment Bank's analyst Chong Hoe Leong also told Xinhua the stockpile is likely to hit the psychological level of 2 million tonnes in September, which will pressure the palm oil prices.
The stronger ringgit lately will also pressure the palm oil prices, said Chong who expected CPO price to end the year at 2,500 ringgit per tonne.
