August 24, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Saani 14, 1423

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23: Malaysia’s crude palm oil futures ended lower in listless trade on Friday as players refrained from taking fresh positions ahead of the weekend and next week’s August 1-25 exports data.

There’s nothing to talk about today. The market will be trading within a range of 1,500 and 1,550 ringgit, said one trader.

At the close, the benchmark third-month November contract closed 11 ringgit lower to 1,518 ringgit ($399.47) a ton after trading as high as 1,532 ringgit.

Volume was moderate at 2,111 lots.

On Monday, cargo surveyors ITS and SGS are scheduled to release August 1-25 palm oil exports data which could reach around 820,000 tons. SGS, whose data is more closely watched by the market, put July 1-25 exports at 713,431 tons.

Traders said freight rates had firmed by $1 a ton as brokers scrambled for shipping space, adding that shipment bookings to main buyers India and China for August had reached 350,000 and 300,000 tons respectively.

China is buying more cooking oil ahead of the annual mid-autumn festival to celebrate the full moon on September 21, they said.

Traders said exports could reach 950,000-980,000 tons for the whole of August, up from 900,051 tons in July as reported by SGS.

In physical crude palm oil, the August/September CPO contract for the southern and central zones saw bids at 1,520 ringgit a ton a ton against sale offers at 1,525 ringgit.

Deals were reported at 1,525 to 1,530 a ton for August/ September (south) and at 1,520/1,530 ringgit for August/ September (central).—Reuters