Malaysian palm oil stockpiles drop to 13-month low in May

KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil reserves in Malaysia, the second-largest supplier after Indonesia, slumped to the lowest level in 13 months in May as production continued to drop from a year ago and exports gained as China and India built up reserves.

Inventories tumbled 4.5% to 1.76 million metric tonne from 1.85 million tonne in April, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said in a statement on Monday.

That compared to the median of 1.78 million tonne in a Bloomberg survey. Output was 1.38 million tonne in May from 1.27 million tonne in April, and 1.74 million tonne a year earlier.

Exports gained 4.8% to 1.4 million tonne in April, the board said.

Prices have dropped 17% from a 13-month high in April on concerns over rising output, a slowing Chinese economy and deepening debt crisis in Europe.