January 15, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 30, 1422

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14: Malaysia’s crude palm oil futures fell after CBOT electronic trading shed earlier gains and due to bearish December crop data, traders said on Monday.

At the close, the benchmark third-month March futures was down 34 ringgit at 1,191 ringgit ($313.42) a ton after trading as high as 1,216 ringgit, just below key resistance of 1,120 ringgit.

Volume was heavy at 3,726 lots. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said on Saturday crude palm oil output fell 10.9 per cent to 948,704 tons in December from 1.06 million in November, and against 942,715 tons in December 2000.

The MPOB said end-December stocks were down 6.3 per cent to 1.21 million tons against 1.29 million at end-November and 1.42 million in December 2000.

Traders said on Monday big ships are still unable to collect crude palm oil from Belawan port in Indonesia, forcing some vessels to divert to Malaysia as efforts to remove a sinking dredger move at a snail’s pace.

Ships whose draught is more than eight metres can’t enter the port. Belawan is not normal yet and between five and 10 vessels were diverted to Pasir Gudang last week, said one trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to one of Malaysia’s main ports.

Crude palm oil for January in the southern and central regions were offered at 1,180 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,175.

Deals were reported at 1,180 to 1,200 for both sides.

Among refined palm oil products, RBD palm oil for January was offered at $330 a ton, February/March at $332.50 and April/May/June at $337.50.

RBD palm olein for January saw offers at $340, February/March at $345 and April/May/June at $350.—Reuters