May 18, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1427

BANGKOK, May 17: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed mostly down on Wednesday under pressure from a stronger ringgit against the US dollar, dealers said.

The benchmark third-month August crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives in Kuala Lumpur fell two ringgit to 1,463 ringgit a ton ($409.8) after trading as high as 1,473 ringgit.

The strength of ringgit tempered sentiment of the market although electronic went up, a dealer said, referring to Chicago Board of Trade electronic trading.

Other traded months settled either down two to three ringgit or up one to eight ringgit. Volume was at 7,098 lots of 25 tons each compared to Tuesday’s 8,663 lots.

Soyaoil and palm oil compete for exports and their prices often move in step.

The ringgit has risen more than 5 per cent so far this year and a stronger ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for overseas buyers.

Dealers said the Malaysian market would move in a tight range on Thursday with volume remaining thin and the immediate resistance at 1,480 and support at 1,450.

It depends on how Chicago performs tonight. If it goes up sharply then our market may push up a bit, a dealer said. But if the ringgit strengthens further,

it will temper the market again.—Reuters