May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7: Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday as rising supplies and a slowdown in buying weighed on the market, dealers said.

The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished down 32 ringgit at 3,355 ringgit ($1,063) per ton.

Refiners are not taking oil because the storage facilities are full. It’s a problem for plantations, said one dealer with a domestic brokerage.

At the same time, imports are not picking up as everyone expected. India and China are buying in small quantities.

Other traded months fell between 30 and 44 ringgit in an overall trade of 5,794 lots of 25 tons each, half of around 10,000 lots traded on a routine day.

Malaysia’s crude palm oil output is expected to rise to 16.5 million tons this year from 15.8 million tons in 2007 as soaring palm oil prices have led to conversion of marginal land into plantations, the country’s commodities minister said.

Soyaoil for May delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.31 per cent but the most-active September contract was down 2.05 per cent.

Global vegoil prices also were under pressure on news that Argentina’s government is willing to modify export taxes on grain and soy exports as it seeks to avert a fresh strike in the agricultural sector

Exports of Malaysian palm oil in April recovered from steep losses earlier in the month but only posted up to a 7.4 per cent increase in sales, cargo surveyors recently said.

In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for May shipment in the southern region was quoted at 3,370/3,395 and trades were done between 3,390 and 3,395 ringgit a ton.—Reuters