KUALA LUMPUR, June 5: Malaysian palm oil futures gave up some of the gains at the close on Thursday, falling victim to profit-taking, traders said. “It’s purely profit-taking because the market has firmed up in the past two days. But I think people may also get affected by some negative news about oilseed prices,” said one dealer.

Benchmark third-month August was quoted at 1,415 ringgit a ton, up four ringgit, after trading as high as 1,432 ringgit. Overall volume was heavy at 6,260 lots.

Analysts said the market could fall on Friday because the August contract had failed to close above 1,420-1,430 ringgit resistance. Separately, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday grain and oilseed prices are set to fall sharply in 2003/04 as production rebounds in major producing countries.—Reuters