August 24, 2006	Thursday	Rajab 28, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23: Malaysian crude palm oil futures bounced back on Wednesday, helped by technical covering and firmer prices of rival soyaoil. Dealers said healthy export performance would continue to support the market.

Fundamentals remain strong, so the market is likely to hold above 1,600 ringgit for now, said a dealer.

By mid-afternoon, the benchmark third-month November crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives market was up 13 ringgit at 1,611 ringgit ($438) a ton.

The market dropped more than 4 per cent last week. Other traded months rose between nine and 16 ringgit.

Volumes stood at 4,766 lots of 25 tons each. The open interest was high at 67,077 lots, compared with 35,000 to 40,000 lots a few months ago, which traders said indicated a large number of players.

The September contract expired on Tuesday 18 cents up at $72.63 after a three-day rally. London Brent crude for October slipped 16 cents to $73.08 a barrel.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Aug 1-20 stood at 856,885 tons, up 14 per cent from the 751,524 tons shipped between July 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.—Reuters