Palm oil futures rebounded within an ace of two-year highs after Thailand unveiled its first imports in three years, fuelling concerns of a supply squeeze.

Thailand, which is typically self sufficient in palm oil, said it was to import 30,000 tonnes of the vegetable oil following a shortage of domestic cooking oil.

The imports are relatively small in world terms, and limited to a window of this month, to protect Thailand's domestic producers, who in February start a seasonal uptick in output.

Nonetheless, they stoked expectations of a scramble for supplies of the vegetable oil, ahead of next month's Chinese new year festivities, typically a time of peak demand.

Investors already believe that palm oil stock in Malaysia, the second-ranked exporter, fell in December to a five-month low of 1.56m tonnes, according to a Reuters poll.

Kuala Lumpur palm oil for March, the benchmark contract, hit 3,894 ringgit a tonne at one point, 11 ringgit from a two-year high, before easing to close at 3,864 ringgit a tonne, up 1.5% on the day.

La Nina to linger 

The rise of nearly 50% in Kuala Lumpur palm oil prices over the last four months has also been stoked by disruption from the La Nina weather pattern, which has brought heavy rains to Indonesia and Malaysia, the top two producing countries.

Meanwhile, Argentina, the top exporter of soyoil, the main rival to palm oil for many uses, has suffered a dearth of rainfall, raising fears of a weak soybean harvest.

Australian weather officials on Wednesday forecast that the La Nina was likely to persist until the southern hemisphere autumn, taken by analysts as meaning around May.

"All climate indicators.. remain beyond La Nina thresholds," Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.

The cooler Pacific waters associated with a La Nina were evident in "temperatures below the surface up to four degrees Celsius below normal in central and eastern parts, comparable to the La Niña event of 1988".