December 20, 2006	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 28, 1427

BANGKOK, Dec 19: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose on Tuesday with traders covering short positions in hope a weaker ringgit would stimulate overseas demand.

The benchmark third-month March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange ended up 8 ringgit at 1,855 ringgit a ton ($519) after trading between 1,836 ringgit and 1,872 ringgit.

3.5738/3.5788 to the dollar from 3.55 on Monday. A weaker ringgit makes palm oil relatively less expensive to overseas buyers.

Other traded contracts were up 5 ringgit to 8 ringgit. Overall volume was 6,479 lots of 25 tons each, down from Monday's 12,801 lots.

The market was likely to trade in a narrow range and meet resistance at 1,870 ringgit with support at 1,850 ringgit on Wednesday on fears of a weak export performance in the first 20 days of December, dealers said.

Two cargo surveyors are due to give estimates on Wednesday for Dec. 1-20 Malaysian palm oil exports, with the market speculating shipments could be down by up to 18 per cent from the first 20 days of November at around 702,465 tons, they said.—Reuters