Palm oil futures rise after quake

Palm oil futures rise after quake

JAKARTA: Palm oil futures in Malaysia rose on speculation supply from Indonesia may fall after the world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years hit the island of Sumatra.

"There will be evacuation and logistics issues that will amount to production disruptions," said Boyke Setiawan, a marketing analyst at state-owned PT Perkebunan Nusantara VII, which owns about 62,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in the southern part of Sumatra. "We don't know yet to what extent the effect would be."

Palm oil futures on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange for March delivery rose 2 ringgit, or 0.14 percent, to close at 1,388 ringgit at ton (US$365) in Kuala Lumpur. The contract earlier rose as much as 9 ringgit.

Malaysia and Indonesia produce about 80 percent of the world's palm oil. -- Bloomberg