Jakarta. Palm oil edged higher on Wednesday after touching a near five-month low, with Malaysian futures climbing more than 1 percent to around 4,040 ringgit per tonne as bargain hunters returned to the market.

The benchmark contract also rose 0.55 percent to 4,044 percent per tonne in CFD trading on Nov. 27, though prices remain down 6.28 percent over the past month and 17.2 percent lower than a year earlier.

According to Trading Economics report, the rebound followed gains in rival vegetable oils on the Chicago Board of Trade and a slight recovery in crude oil prices, improving sentiment after four consecutive sessions of losses. Traders said demand prospects may strengthen as India, the world’s top buyer, is expected to boost its palm oil imports by about 20 percent in the next marketing year on more competitive pricing.

Still, the market’s upside was capped by a firmer ringgit and weak export signals. Two major cargo surveyors estimated Malaysia’s shipments fell between 16.4 percent and 18.8 percent in the first 25 days of November compared with the previous month.

The supply overhang also persists: industry data for October showed Malaysian crude palm oil output rose 11 percent to its highest level since August 2015, while inventories climbed to a six-and-a-half-year high. To maintain competitiveness amid softer demand, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board set a lower reference price for December exports.

Indonesia’s tax authorities have expanded their probe into alleged export data manipulation involving crude palm oil and its derivatives, with the number of suspected taxpayers rising to 463 from 282 identified in November. Tax chief Bimo Wijayanto said investigators found more companies potentially involved in schemes to avoid levies and other obligations.

Officials believe some exporters falsely labeled shipments of palm oil mill effluent, fatty matter, or other CPO-based products as waste to dodge export fees, sidestep domestic market rules, or reduce tax payments. Earlier checks showed 257 of the initially flagged taxpayers used this method between 2021 and 2024, tied to Rp 45.9 trillion in export declarations, prompting authorities to tighten oversight of the industry.

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