Commodities Roundup: CPO futures firmer on oil rally
Business Times
Thursday, August 28, 2008
CPO FUTURES
Malaysian palm oil futures have tumbled nearly 45 per cent since a record high in March on rising global vegetable oil supplies and faltering crude oil prices which have dimmed the prospects for the use of vegetable oils as alternative energy. The have fallen about 18 perc ent since the start of the year.
The benchmark November crude oil contract settled up RM93, or 3.86 per cent, at RM2,502 (US$739) per tonne on the day.
It hit a session high of RM2,523 per tonne, rebounding from a one-week low of RM2,406 marked on Tuesday.
“The market gained today only on the back of firm crude prices. But we are looking at range trading of RM2,400-RM2,550 in the next 1-2 days,” said a dealer at a foreign brokerage firm.
Other traded contracts rose between RM30 and RM111 per tonne. Overall volume stood at 12,824 of 25 tonnes each.
US crude oil rose for a third day yesterday, boosted by the possibility that Tropical Storm Gustav could become the first major storm since 2005 to threaten US oil and natural gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil for October delivery rose US$1.42 to US$117.69 a barrel by 1148 GMT, after settling up US$1.16 on Tuesday.
Malaysian palm futures also got support from expectations that export demand would rise gradually as
“Low prices will lift some demand,” the dealer said. But the high-cycle period which was extended from September-October to November, means demand may not enough to soak up stocks, he said.
In the physical market in
