March 27, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 23, 1424

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26: Malaysian palm oil futures climbed at the end of a choppy day on Wednesday, lifted by refiner covering and a technical rebound, traders said.

At the close, the benchmark third-month June contract was up 14 ringgit at 1,405 ringgit ($369.74) a ton after touching a low of 1,371 ringgit.

Volume was heavy at 10,258 lots. Refiners are covering back their positions, said one dealer.

I also heard there was some buying by India today, but the amount is not significant, said the dealer, referring to the world’s largest edible oil consumer.

Chartists said the downtrend was intact, adding that any technical rebound would not be sustained. They pegged downside targets at 1,350 and 1,327 ringgit. In the physical crude palm oil market, sellers offered March/April crude palm oil at 1,425 ringgit a ton against bids of 1,420 ringgit for the southern region.

March/April CPO for central region was offered at 1,420 ringgit against bids of 1,415. Deals were done at 1,400 to 1,420 ringgit.—Reuters