November 23, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 1, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed marginally lower on Wednesday, as players took profits after a strong rally, but the decline was limited by firm soyaoil prices.

The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange finished down 5 ringgit at 1,866 ringgit a ton ($512), after hitting a 30-month high of 1,949 ringgit on Tuesday.

Other traded months closed lower between 10 and 45 ringgit a ton. Overall volume declined to 12,466 lots of 25 tons each, compared with 22,154 lots traded on Tuesday.

Malaysia's palm oil output is expected to decline in coming months because of widespread rains during the monsoon season that started this month.

The state-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board said stocks at the end of October fell 11.44 per cent, and output was down 13.03 per cent. Exports during the month jumped 9.13 per cent.

Trading was dull in the physical palm oil market with buyers unwilling to pay a higher price. Traders were offering November shipments at 1,795/1,800 ringgit a ton. A few deals were sealed between 1,800 and 1,805 ringgit.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for November 1-20 fell 14.8 per cent to 834,065 tons from the same period last month, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.—Reuters