KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday as a sharp rise in May production and inventories, amid a slump so far in June exports, weighed on prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 19 ringgit, or 0.56%, to 3,348 ringgit ($725.15) per metric tonne.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-10 fell 17.6% from the same period in May, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said on Saturday. Another cargo surveyor, Intertek Testing Services said shipments fell 16.7%.

Malaysia’s end-May palm oil inventories rose for the first time in four months, up 12.63% from April to 1.69 million metric tonnes, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) data released during the midday break.

Big palm oil players say EU deforestation law will not hurt exports

Production swelled 26.8% to 1.52 million metric tonnes, but exports were down 0.78% to 1.08 million tonnes, MPOB said.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 1%, while its palm oil contract gained 0.1%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.8%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.