August 19, 2006	Saturday	Rajab 23, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed marginally higher on Friday, halting four straight days of decline due to fresh buying interest.

Dealers said higher crude oil prices, which often lend support to the palm oil market because of the biodiesel push, also helped the market to recover.

“The market was oversold and there was good buying at these levels,” said one trader. “Crude oil prices are also lifted the market.” The benchmark third-month November crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives market ended up six ringgit to 1,592 ringgit ($434) a ton.

The market has dropped more than 4 per cent since Monday.

Other traded months rose between three and six ringgit. Volumes stood at 10,955 lots of 25 tons each.

The open interest was high at 66,562 lots, compared with 35,000 to 40,000 lots a few months ago, which traders said indicated a large number of players.

Soyoil futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weak in what appeared to be another round of fund long liquidation -- a trend that began late last week.

September soyoil closed 0.29 cent lower at 24.86 cents per lb, with the back months down 0.25 to 0.31.—Reuters