July 25, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 09, 1428

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24: Malaysian crude palm oil futures jumped 1.8 per cent on Tuesday as India reduced import tariffs on edible oil, boosting hopes that palm oil shipments to the South Asian nation would rise.

The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished up 45 ringgit, or 1.8 per cent, at 2,525 ringgit ($743) per ton.

Crude palm oil and soyabean oil imports into India will attract a duty of 40 per cent, while refined palmolein will have an import tariff of 52.5 per cent.

Other traded months rose between 10 and 46 ringgit in overall trade of 10,568 lots of 25 tons each.

It's a very good move which favours palm oil but this alone will not be able to hold the prices at higher levels, another dealer said. It will depend on export numbers because production is rising.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for July 1-20 fell 2.6 per cent to 644,332 tons, from 661,626 tons shipped between June 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports fell 5.5 pc to 638,163 tons over the same period.

But traders now say high prices could push consumers to delay purchases until the end of July. Cargo surveyors will announce July 1-25 export numbers on Wednesday.

Palm oil is less than 9 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in June.

In the physical market, crude palm oil for July shipment in Malaysia's southern region was quoted at 2,620/2,630 ringgit a ton. Deals were done between 2,600 and 2,625 ringgit a ton.

—Reuters