March 27, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1429

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26: Malaysian crude palm oil futures soared 5.7 per cent on Wednesday to near a two-week high as concerns of tight global oilseed supplies spurred investors to buy after last week’s sell-off.

Palm oil has staged a solid come-back with three straight sessions of gains as edible oil producing countries from Argentina to Indonesia raised export taxes while consuming nations such as India slashed import duties.

The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 200 ringgit to settle at 3,700 ringgit ($1,160), a level not seen since March 14.

Other traded months rose between 136 and 201 ringgit. Overall trade rose to more than doubled to 21,920 lots of 25 tons each.

Widjaja said palm oil market was riding higher on the back of bullish soyaoil prices due to an Argentinian grain farmers’ strike at the start of the South American soy season due to the increase in export taxes.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s move to double crude palm oil export taxes to 20 per cent in April would see a heavier reliance on Malaysian palm oil to satisfy world demand, Malaysian traders said.

There has been talk of Indonesian exporters rushing to ship out palm oil to Malaysia prior to the export hike announcement on Tuesday, said a trader with a local commodities brokerage.

They are pretty desperate. Export curbs by producer countries have followed moves by consumer countries such as India in slashing import duties for crude palm oil to 20 per cent from 45 per cent.

But Asian traders said Malaysian palm oil will be the main benefactor of the flurry of import duty cuts and export tax hikes.

He added: Palm oil will have to satisfy Indian food demand regardless of whether the government cuts soyaoil import duties.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said Malaysian palm oil exports rose 10.2 per cent to 1,006,100 tons for March 1-25, while Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a 14.8 per cent jump to 1,037,210 tons.—Reuters