CPO futures ease on Mideast unrest - Business Times

CPO FUTURES

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower yesterday on concerns over the unrest in the Middle East and big refiners selling down the market, a dealer said.

March 2011 and April 2011 slid RM72 to RM3,506 and RM3,480 respectively, while May 2011 dwindled RM59 to RM3,455 and June 2011 eased RM43 to RM3,435.

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives announced yesterday crude palm oil futures contracts reached an all-time high for the daily volume yesterday, surpassing the previous record of 41,879 contracts on November 18 2010.

RUBBER

THE Malaysian rubber market ended mixed yesterday as buyers remained sidelined in anticipation of lower prices, a dealer said.

The prices were also influenced by mixed performances on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and the Shanghai futures market.

The Malaysian Rubber Board’s noon official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 declined 16 sen to 1,642 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk eased 0.5 sen to 1,091 sen per kg.

The unofficial sellers’ closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 decreased 7 sen to 1,636 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk rose by 1.5 sen to 1,091.5 sen per kg.

TIN

THE Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) closed sharply lower yesterday as most buyers preferred to stay on the sidelines, dealers said.

Tin price fell by US$850 (US$1.00 = RM3.04) to US$31,550 per tonne, in line with the downtrend on London Metal Exchange (LME).

Tin price on the LME, which normally influences local market, fell by US$750 to US$31,650 per tonne.

On the KLTM, turnover fell to 49 tonnes from 55 tonnes on Wednesday with the participation from European, Japanese and local traders.

At the opening level, buyers bid for 10 tonnes while offers totalled 101 tonnes. The price differential between the KLTM and LME narrowed to a premium of US$365 per tonne from US$465 per tonne previously. - Bernama