BURSA MALAYSIA >>> BMD Crude Palm Oil Futures 15 Dec 2009

Crude Palm Oil Futures End Up; Off Highs On Profit-Taking
Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia’s derivatives exchange ended slightly higher Tuesday, off highs as supportive outlooks by industry analysts were offset by lower soyoil and crude oil prices and by profit taking, trade participants said.

Lower palm oil export figures for the Dec. 1-15 period also helped to take prices off their highs.

The benchmark February contract on BMD ended 0.5% higher at MYR2,525 a metric ton, after rising to an intraday high of MYR2,539 a ton.

"Many investors are liquidating positions to show profits before the closing of accounts at the end of the year," a senior executive from a global trading firm said.

Prices are likely to move mostly in a MYR2,420-MYR2,580 range in the next few days, with trade likely to be a tad choppy as investors square off positions.

Palm oil prices rose steadily in early afternoon trade after vegetable oils analyst Dorab Mistry maintained his bullish outlook on the commodity in 2010.
Likely lower palm oil reserves in December supported prices as well.
Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok said Malaysian palm oil stocks as of Dec. 14 were at 1.9 million metric tons, down 1.6% from end-November palm reserves at 1.93 million tons.

But sluggish trade in the cash market and weak export figures damped sentiment in futures trading and the February contract gave up most of its gains.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Agri Services estimated Malaysia's palm oil exports during the Dec. 1-15 period at 609,874 tons, down 9.5% from the same period last month.
Another surveyor, SGS (Malaysia) Bhd., estimated the numbers at 626,934 tons, down 13% on month.

January soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade was 21 points lower in e-CBOT trading at 39.42 cents a pound by the end of trade on the BMD.

Light, sweet crude oil for January on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading 7 cents lower at $69.44 a barrel at 1027 GMT on Globex.

In the cash market, palm olein for February/March traded at $772.50/ton, April/May/June $782.50/ton and $785/ton, FOB Malaysian ports, a Singapore-based trading executive said.
Cash CPO for prompt delivery was offered MYR40 higher at MYR2,480/ton.
A total of 8,357 lots of CPO were traded on the BMD, versus 11,673 lots Monday.
Open interest was 84,371 lots Tuesday, down from 85,135 lots. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons.

The December contract expired Tuesday.

March 2010 will now become the benchmark third-month contract.