Palm Oil Stockpiles in Malaysia Surge to Record on Output

Palm-oil stockpiles in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, jumped to a record as a surge in output and an economic slowdown in China and Europe weakened demand for the commodity used in food and biofuel.

Inventories jumped 17.4 percent to 2.48 million metric tons in September from a revised 2.11 million tons in August, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said in a statement today. That is higher than the median estimate of 2.43 million tons in a Bloomberg survey last week and surpassed the previous all-time high of 2.27 million tons in November 2008. Output surged 20 percent to 2 million tons, a monthly record, while exports rose 4.5 percent to 1.51 million tons.