June 23, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1428

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22: Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged lower on Friday in light trade as prices of rival soybean oil declined and the market awaited further news that Indonesia may cut export tax on palm oil products.

Traders said fears over declining exports and rising supplies had weighed on palm oil prices over the past two days.

The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 8 ringgit at 2,380 ringgit ($690) a ton after touching an intra-day low of 2,360 ringgit.

The market is mainly affected by the fall in US soybean oil, said one trader.

The news that Indonesia could cut palm oil export tax is of interest but the market will only react to this once the plan becomes a reality.

Indonesia is considering lowering the export tax on palm oil products if local cooking oil prices ease, Bayu Krisnamurthi, deputy to the coordinating economics minister, said on Friday.

Last week, Indonesia raised the export tax on crude palm oil to 6.5 per cent from 1.5 per cent and on palm oil products to 6.5 per cent from 0.3 per cent to stabilise cooking oil prices, which were up 30 per cent this year on surging global prices.

Other traded months fell between 5 ringgit and 25 ringgit.

Overall trade halved to 5,527 lots of 25 tons each from Thursday's level.

Right now, players are just by the sidelines, waiting to see how the export numbers fare, said another trader. Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance will unveil June 1 to 25 export numbers on Monday.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-20 fell 15 per cent to 661,626 tons from 775,979 tons shipped between May 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Wednesday.

Another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillence said exports during the period fell 15.5 per cent to 675,424 tons.

In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for June shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,530/2,550 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 2,530 and 2,550.—Reuters