Palm futures end sharply lower - Business Times

CPO FUTURES

CRUDE palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Bhd closed sharply lower yesterday on profit-taking, dealers said.

They said market players took the cue from the sharp losses in soyabean prices on the Chicago Board of Trade as well as the decline of other commodities globally on Tuesday.

February 2011 declined by RM148 to close at RM3,820 per tonne, March 2011 fell RM177 to RM3,790, April 2011 shed RM188 to RM3,745 and May 2011 slipped RM190 to RM3,695.

Total volume increased to 25,895 lots from 22,646 while open interest fell to 101,211 contracts from 101,509 contracts previously.

RUBBER

RUBBER prices continued to climb yesterday despite a downtrend in Tokyo rubber futures, a dealer said. He said limited supply in major producing countries supported physical rubber prices in staying higher.

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 rose 2 sen to a new high of 1,724.5 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk added 3 sen to 1,065.5 sen a kg.

The unofficial sellers’ closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 fell 14 sen to 1,713.5 sen a kg, but latex-in-bulk added 0.5 sen to 1,067.0 sen a kg.

TIN

THE tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) soared to another all-time high yesterday, rising sharply by US$500 (US$1.00 = RM3.04) to settle at 32,200 per tonne, as supply fears continued to pressure the price.

A dealer said overseas buying has been the engine behind the price rally, which is expected to continue as traders continued to chase supply.

"Sellers are refusing to sell at the current price level as they waiting for the price to reach US$35,000 in the near future," he added.

Similarly, the tin price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) also hit an all-time high of US$32,550, moving higher by US$750 per tonne on lower production,especially from the world's second largest producer of the metal, Indonesia.

The local market was closed on Tuesday for the Maulidur Rasul holiday. At the opening bell yesterday, buyers bid for 100 tonnes, while sellers offered only 30 tonnes.

Turnover decreased to 55 tonnes from 59 tonnes last Monday, with the participation of Japanese, European and local traders. The premium between the KLTM and the LME narrowed to US$115 per tonne today against US$365 per tonne previously. — Bernama