The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain. (Photo: VCG)

Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it expects Malaysian benchmark Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices to average $550 per metric ton in 2020, up from around $500 this year.

The rating agency said in a report that it projected CPO prices to be higher next year as it anticipated the demand-supply balance for palm oil to continue to improve.

The report cited the US Department of Agriculture recent forecasts that global consumption would outpace output growth by 2.8 million tons over the marketing years of 2019 and 2020.