December 16, 2006	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended slightly higher on Friday as a drop in December shipment estimates turned out to be smaller than expected, dealers said.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said exports of Malaysian palm products during Dec. 1-15 fell 25.9 per cent to 502,171 tons from 677,490 in the same period a month earlier.

Another cargo surveyor closely watched by the market, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports fell 24 per cent to 503,097 tons from 661,932 shipped between November 1 and 15.

Yesterday was overdone as the numbers turned out to be about 25,000 tons higher than had been expected, so now people are taking positions ahead of the weekend, a dealer said.

The benchmark February contract ended up 5 ringgit at 1,860 ringgit a ton after trading between 1,850 and 1,871 ringgit.

Other traded contracts were either unchanged or ranged from up 5 ringgit to down 10. Overall volume was 8,931 lots of 25 tons each.

The USDA said 22,100 tonnes of US soyaoil were sold for export last week, above trade estimates of between 5,000 and 10,000 tons.

The US National Oilseed Processors Association said US soyaoil stocks at the end of November totalled 2.694 billion lb, versus 2.638 billion at the end of October.

On Tuesday the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) reported an unexpected 5.03 per cent rise in November stocks.

This week cargo surveyors SGS and ITS both estimated exports fell more than 30 per cent in the first 10 days of December compared with the same period in November.

In the physical crude palm oil market, December was quoted at 1,860/1,880 ringgit a ton in southern Malaysia, with trades at 1,870 ringgit, and in central Malaysia it was quoted at 1,855/1870 ringgit, with trades between 1,860 and 1,870.

In Singapore, shares of Wilmar International closed up 20 per cent on news it aimed to buy Malaysian plantation and agri-business assets from the Kuok Group and others, in a $4.3-billion deal to create the world's second-largest palm oil maker.—Reuters