July 27, 2007	Friday	Rajab 11, 1428

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26: Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed nearly 2 per cent on Thursday on a weakening ringgit currency and surging crude oil prices.

Prices were also supported by buying by one Singapore-based palm oil firm, traders said.

The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 47 ringgit, or 1.9 per cent, at 2,568 ringgit ($748) per ton.

The weaker ringgit has brought in more orders for Malaysian palm oil companies because palm oil becomes much cheaper, said a leading trader.

And with crude oil moving even higher these days, palm oil is attractive for making biodiesel. Other traded months rose between 1 and 65 ringgit in overall trade of 10,595 lots of 25 tons each.

The ringgit dipped as low as 3.4390 per dollar in late trade, down about 0.7 per cent from late Asia trade on Wednesday as investors turned more cautious amid wories about the US mortgage market.

A weaker ringgit against the dollar makes the ringgit-based commodity cheaper for overseas buyers.

US crude oil surged more than $1 to $77 on Thursday, its highest in almost a year, on increasing demand from refiners in the world's top consumer. US data on Wednesday that showed crude stocks fell for a third consecutive week.

US crude was up 91 cents at $76.79 a barrel, off a session peak of $77.24, the highest since August 9, 2006. London Brent crude was up 62 cents at $76.94 a barrel.

The crude oil market often helps support to vegetable oils, including palm oil, because of their growing use in making biodiesel, which competes with petroleum diesel.

Palm oil is around 7 percent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in early June on robust demand from top importers India and China and dwindling supplies at home.

October palm oil on Singapore’s Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange was untraded but the November contract jumped 2.7 percent to $744.25.

In the physical market, crude palm oil for July shipment in Malaysia's southern and central regions was quoted at 2,660/2,670 ringgit a ton. Deals were done between 2,650 and 2,665 ringgit a ton.—Reuters