September 27, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 29, 1424

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26: Malaysian palm oil futures closed lower on Friday as players booked profit following a retreat in rival US soyaoil futures and ahead of the weekend.

The benchmark third-month contract on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange, December, ended down 19 ringgit at 1,418 ringgit a ton, off the day’s low of 1,409. It had risen 66 ringgit over the previous five sessions. Dealers pegged immediate support at 1,400 ringgit, with resistance seen at 1,450.

Volume shrank to 4,715 lots from Thursday’s 7,064.

In the physical CPO market, the September contract saw bids/offers at 1,480/1,485 ringgit a ton in the southern and central regions of Malaysia. Trades were reported at 1,480 ringgit.

October CPO was bid/offered at 1,470/1,480 ringgit a ton in both south and central zones. Deals were done at 1,475 ringgit.—Reuters