June 29, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 2, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended marginally higher in thin trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in rival soyoil, dealers said.

The benchmark third-month September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed 4 ringgit up at 1,467 ringgit ($398) a ton. August ended unchanged at 1,446 ringgit.

Overall volume stood at 5,619 lots of 25 tons each.

Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Tuesday on short covering and a surge in wheat futures, traders said.

The soy futures market fell on Monday as aggressive fund selling pushed the market down close to technically oversold levels.

That set up Tuesday's short-covering rally but the weather-related rally in wheat triggered additional spillover buying in the soy complex, they said.

Soyaoil and palm oil are both used in products ranging from food and soap to cosmetics and biodiesel, so prices for the two commodities tend to move in tandem.

Dealers said the market awaits June export data due at the end of the month. Right now the market is looking for directions, the June export figures might help, another dealer said.—Reuters