March 26, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 22, 1424

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25: Malaysia’s palm oil futures snaked lower on Tuesday and were likely to extend falls in coming days as traders gave up hope for a speedy end to the Iraqi war.

At the close, the benchmark third-month futures, June was 26 ringgit lower at 1,391 ringgit ($366.05) a ton after trading as high as 1,415 ringgit.

Volume was extremely heavy at 11,438 lots.

Anything can happen to the market. Prices may fall to 1,300 ringgit tomorrow, said one dealer, referring to a level last seen in July 2002.

In the physical crude palm oil market, sellers offered March/April crude palm oil at 1,415 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,410 ringgit for southern region.

Deals were reported at 1,400 to 1,420 ringgit.

March/April CPO for central region was offered at 1,410 ringgit against bids of 1,405 ringgit. Deals were done at 1,400 to 1,410 ringgit.—Reuters