January 8, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 23, 1422

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7: Malaysian crude palm oil futures continued their rally on Monday, boosted by the December crop report from private forecaster Ivan Wong.

Benchmark third-month March futures closed up 38 ringgit at 1,234 ringgit ($324.74) a ton.

Overall volume was heavy at 3,195 lots, up from Friday’s 2,398 lots.

Ivan Wong’s figures further boosted an already firm market, and we may be looking at more gains this week, a trader said, pegging immediate resistance at 1,250 ringgit.

Wong estimated Malaysia’s palm oil output in December at 910,000 tons, down 14.6 per cent from November.

He revised downward his estimate of end-December stocks to 1.11 million tons from an earlier 1.16 million and compared with the official 1.29 million tons at end-November.

December exports were estimated at 965,000 tons, down from the official 982,941 tons in November but higher that an earlier projection of 865,000-870,000 tons.

Traders said the imminent release of China’s palm oil import quotas for 2002 also remained a supportive factor.

They said Beijing was expected to release the first batch of the quota, which could total one million tons, this week. But a source familiar with Chinese deals said the quota was likely to be issued in the first week of February.

China is set to import 2.4 million tons of palm oil in 2002, up sharply from last year’s 1.4 million following its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In the physical sector, the January contract for south and central regions was offered at 1,220 ringgit a tonne against bids of 1,215. Deals were reported at 1,195 to 1,215 ringgit.

February for south and central regions was offered at 1,235 ringgit against bids of 1,225. Trades were done at 1,210 to 1,225 ringgit.—Reuters