Commodities Roundup: CPO futures sharply higher
Business Times
Wednesday - March 26, 2008
CPO FUTURES
Crude palm oil (CPO) futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Bhd closed sharply higher following the release of positive export data of Malaysian palm oil products by a cargo surveyor yesterday, dealers said.
The benchmark third-month June 2008 contract surged to RM3,500 per tonne, up RM160 from RM3,340 per tonne on Monday, said one dealer.
Societe Generale de Surveillance yesterday reported that that exports of Malaysian palm oil products rose 14.8 per cent to 1,037,210 tonnes for the March 1 to 25 period, from 903,375 tonnes shipped in the same period of February.
“CPO prices are expected to be steady for the rest of the week, although the price of crude oil will influence the trend,” a dealer said.
At close, April 2008 rose RM244 to RM3,460 per tonne and May 2008 increased RM270 to RM3,500 per tonne. July 2008 increased RM160 to settle at RM3,500 per tonne.
Yesterday’s volume stood at 20,170 lots, up from Monday’s 18,640 lots.
Open interest declined slightly to 40,489 contracts from 40,843 contracts previously.
On the physical market, April South was higher at RM3,5100 per tonne from RM3,400 per tonne on Monday.
