July 29, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1424

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28: Malaysian palm oil futures pared gains at the close on Monday as they lacked the momentum to sustain the afternoon’s technical rebound, traders said.

Benchmark third-month October last traded at 1,313 ringgit ($345.57) a ton, up 11 ringgit.

It had touched a high of 1,323 ringgit after breaching the key 1,315 resistance level. Volume was heavy at 5,826 lots.

“The market fails to close above the resistance level, so it’s still technically weak,” said one dealer.

Physical traders said prices of RBD palm olein are set to fall this month as worries about rising output in Malaysia and Indonesia and easing demand from India and China depress the market.

Spot olein has been trading at a very high premium to forward oils in the last two months due to tightness in the physical market and steady covering by India and China ahead of the festival seasons, they said.

RBD palm olein was last quoted at $437.50 a ton FOB Malaysia for August while September olein was offered by dealers at $410.—Reuters