KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6: Malaysian palm oil was almost flat at Tuesday’s close after speculative selling erased early gains posted on the strength of US soyaoil in pre-market trade, dealers said.
Volume in crude palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was about a third of that seen on a typically busy day as investors shunned the market due to weak leads.
The benchmark third-month crude palm oil contract, November ended at US$367.04 a ton. Market volume totalled 1,998 lots of 25 tons each, against up to 6,000 lots on a busy day.
Palm oil initially rose on the strength of the CBOT, with November going up five ringgit to a peak of 1,389.
The market’s leading exports surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said last week it estimated 8.1 per cent growth in August shipments of Malaysian palm oil versus July.
Investors had initially hoped for growth of 15-20 per cent.
In the central region, offers/ bids stood at 1,377.50/1,372.50.
Trades were reported at 1,372.50-1,375 ringgit in the south and 1,370-1,372.50 in the central region.—Reuters
