December 20, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 15, 1423

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19: Malaysian palm oil futures ended up after bullish crop data for December from market guru Ivan Wong and overnight gains in rival Chicago soyaoil.

The new benchmark third-month March palm oil futures closed 19 ringgit higher at 1,661 ringgit ($437) a ton after trading as high as 1,670.

SGS, whose figures are more closely watched than those of ITS, has so far estimated shipments for the first 15 days of December at 468,000 tons against 415,978 for November 1-15.

In the trading of physical crude palm oil, the contract for December saw bids at 1,675 ringgit a ton against offers of 1,680 ringgit. The contract was traded in the southern zone at 1,685-1,690 ringgit and in the central region at 1,680-1,675.

January CPO was offered at 1,680 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,690 ringgit. It was traded at 1,685-1,690 ringgit in the south and at 1,680 in the central zone.—Reuters