CPO futures rise on strong buying

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher yesterday on strong buying, dealers said.

They said the positive palm oil export figures for March 1-25 also boosted buying sentiment in the market.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported that Malaysian palm oil exports for March 1-25 rose 2.3 per cent to 1.114 million tonnes from the 1.089 million tonnes recorded in the same period last month.


Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance said Malaysian palm oil exports for the first 25 days of March 2010, increased 2.1 per cent to 1.125 million tonnes from 1.102 million tonnes previously.

April 2010 and May 2010 climbed RM22 each to RM2,634 a tonne and RM2,599 respectively while June 2010 increased RM15 to RM2,575 and July 2010 added RM12 to RM2,558.

Turnover, however, declined to 10,656 lots from 13,662 lots yesterday while open interests increased to 78,414 contracts from 77,953 previously.

On the physical market, April South increased to RM2,640 a tonne from RM2,610 a tonne previously.

RUBBER

THE Malaysian rubber market closed higher yesterdayin line with firmer rubber prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, dealers said.

They said the tight supply condition in major producing countries due to a prolonged dry weather has lifted pushed up prices.

"The market fundamentals remain firm," a dealer said, adding that there were also enquiries for SMR20 from South Africa.

At noon, the Malaysia Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 closed 3 three sen higher at 1,037.0 sen a per kg and latex-in-bulk rose 1.5 sen to 734.5 sen per kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 gained 7 sen to 1,040.5 sen per kg and latex-in-bulk rose 3.5 sen to 737.0 sen per kg.

TIN
THE Kuala Lumpur Tin Market(KLTM) closed lower yesterday by US$10 (US$1.00 = RM3.34) to settle at US$17,490 per tonne in line with the downtrend on the London Metal Exchange (LME), dealers said.

The tin price on LME, which usually influences price direction for the KLTM, fell US$50 to US$17,550 per tonne.

On the local front, buyers bid for 45 tonnes while sellers offered 55 tonnes.

Yesterday turnover declined to 45 tonnes from 61 tonnes on Wednesday.

The price differential between the KLTM and the LME widened to a premium of US$295 per tonne from US$255 per tonne on Wednesday. - Bernama