December 17, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 12, 1423

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16: Malaysia’s palm oil futures were firmer in record high volume on Monday as players rolled positions forward, traders said.

At the close, the new benchmark third-month March was 11 ringgit higher at 1,641 ringgit ($431.84) a ton after trading as high as 1,644 ringgit, just below the 1,650 ringgit resistance.

Volume was a staggering 10,702 lots.

China was the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil for December 1-15, taking 134,720 tons, followed by the United States, which bought 57,657 tons, and India 55,230 tons.

European Union countries bought 36,500 tons amongst them.

Kuala Lumpur freight brokers and traders said shipment bookings to China had reached 250,000 tons so far for December.—Reuters