August 25, 2006	Friday	Rajab 29, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed marginally lower in thin trade on Thursday, due to a decline in crude oil prices. There is not much buying interest, the market has come down because of crude oil, a dealer said. We are waiting for the next export numbers, which should lift the mood. Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe

Volumes stood at 6,222 lots of 25 tons each, nearly half of 11,911 lots traded on Wednesday. Traders pegged strong support for the benchmark November contract at 1,600 ringgit and resistance at 1,630 ringgit.

Oil slipped further below $72 a barrel on Thursday, extending the previous day's two per cent slide started by surprising increase in US gasoline stocks.

In the physical crude palm oil market, sellers were quoting 1,580 ringgit a ton for August shipment and buyers 1,575 ringgit in the southern region, where trades were done between 1,570 and 1,580 ringgit a ton.

Exports of Malaysian oil palm 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, ITS said on Monday.

SGS, whose figures are closely watched by the industry, said exports for the same period were 870,560 tons, up 22 per cent from 713,114 tons shipped between July 1 and 20.—Reuters