CPO futures up in line with steadier soyaoil

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher yesterday in line with steadier soyaoil prices, dealers said.

They said speculation of lower palm oil production for this month due to the dry weather also supported prices in trading higher.

"It's pretty much an uneventful day," said a trader.

"Crude is trading in a positive zone which prompted covering that pushed the market, but the follow-through buying is not there. There is no fresh news to push it a lot higher or lower," the trader said.

Players were looking for fresh leads from the export number for March 1-25, as well as watching for data on production, traders said.

"We are still keen to see if there is any pick-up (in production) for the second half of the month," another trader said.

At close, April 2010 rose RM9 to RM2,644 per tonne, May 2010 increased RM20 to RM2,610, June 2010 gained RM21 to RM2,591 and July 2010 added RM22 to RM2,580.

Turnover, however, declined to 11,742 lots from 12,691 lots on Monday and open interests eased to 78,158 contracts from 79,157 contracts previously.

On the physical market, April South increased to RM2,650 per tonne from RM2,630 per tonne.

RUBBER

RUBBER market closed mixed yesterday despite higher rubber prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, dealers said.

They said the local market was relatively quiet as buyers stayed on the sidelines awaiting a drop in prices.

At noon, the Malaysia Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 ended half sen higher at 1,037.0 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk shed one sen to 735.0 sen per kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 fell 2 sen to 1,034.5 sen per kg and latex-in-bulk slipped half sen to 734.5 sen per kg.

TIN

THE Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) surged to a seven-week high yesterday, boosted by strong demand in the local market, dealers said.

The price of the commodity rose US$20 (US$1.00 = RM3.34) to close at US$17,600 a tonne, the highest level, since it hit US$17,800 on Jan 29 this year.

On the LME meanwhile, the metal price declined US$90 to settle at US$17,560 per tonne overnight.

"The buying appetite on the local market increased despite the drop on the London Metal Exchange (LME)," a dealer said.

There was also strong demand from Japanese, European and local buyers, with the market traded in a firmer manner.

On the local front, turnover increased to 75 tonnes from the 60 tonnes recorded on Monday.

At the opening bell, bids stood at 80 tonnes with offers at 60 tonnes. The price differential between the KLTM and the LME widened to US$395 per tonne from the US$285 on Monday. - Agencies