November 14, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 27, 1422

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rebounded from early lows on Tuesday but stayed in negative territory after players booked profit ahead of a religious holiday, traders said.

At the close, benchmark third-month January ended down nine ringgit at 1,151 ringgit ($302.89) after trading as low as 1,132 ringgit.

January had touched 1,170 ringgit, its highest level since August 8. Volume was moderate at 1,435 lots.

The market will be closed on Wednesday for the Diwali Hindu festival of lights. Trading resumes on Thursday.

Players booked some profit ahead of the holiday, one trader said, adding that participants were waiting for November 1-15 export figures to be released this week by cargo surveyors ITS and SGS.

Some traders said talk emerged in the market that output would decline from November through February next year, which would cut stocks if exports remained strong in the coming months.

There were also rumours that exports could reach one million tons in November, up from the official 898,918 tons in October, they added.

In the physical sector, the November contract for the southern region was bid/asked at 1,100/1,110 ringgit a ton but no trade was reported.

November CPO for the central region was bid/asked at 1,105/1,110 and traded at 1,105.

The December contract for south region was bid/asked at 1,125/1,130.—Reuters