January 04, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 24, 1428

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3: Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed to a new high on Thursday, rising 2.5 per cent, on the back of record soybean oil and crude oil prices.

Traders said prices of palm oil, used in products ranging from cosmetics and confectionaries to biodiesel, could rise further as production takes a hit after monsoon flooding last month.

The benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 77 ringgit to 3,159 ringgit ($961) per ton, surpassing the previous record of 3,150 set last week.The contract settled up 53 ringgit at 3,135 ringgit.

It will go up, look at what is happening to crude oil and soybean oil, said a trader with a domestic broker. We are in the middle of a strong bull run. Other traded months rose between 47 and 64 ringgit. Overall trade stood at 11,968 lots of 25 tons each.

Oil prices dipped on Thursday, after jumping to a lifetime high of $100 the day before, fuelled by expectations of thinning US stockpiles, the falling dollar and geopolitical risks.

Dealers said palm oil has potential to extend gains on concerns over lower production.

Traders said soaring palm oil prices, which gained 53 per cent in 2007, are unlikely to impact exports as the tropical product was still cheaper when compared with rapeseed and soybean oil.

There won’t be much impact on palm oil demand because all other options like soyabean oil and rapeseed oil are more expensive, another trader said.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products rose 10.8 per cent to 1,428,772 tons in December, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, said exports during the month rose 13.9 per cent to 1,443,850 tons.

In the Malaysian physical market, crude palm oil for January shipment in the southern region was quoted at 3,150/3,155 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 3,140 ans 3,150 ringgit.—Reuters