November 24, 2006	Friday	Ziqa'ad 2, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed lower on Thursday as players took profit after a strong rally this week and prices of rival soyaoil declined.

The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange finished down 30 ringgit at 1,836 ringgit ($505) a ton, after hitting a 30-month high of 1,949 ringgit on Tuesday.

Other traded months fell between 22 and 35 ringgit a ton. Overall volume stood at 11,753 lots of 25 tons each.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose by their limit up of 100 ringgit a ton on Monday as surging prices on the CBOT and in China triggered panic buying.November shipments in the southern region were quoted at 1,775/1,785 ringgit a ton. A few deals were sealed between 1,760 and 1,775 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.

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. ($1=3.635 ringgit).—Reuters