CPO futures rise on positive report

CPO FUTURES

KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contracts on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed mostly higher yesterday on positive report by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board that CPO stocks fell 5.23 per cent to 2.44 million tonnes in February, dealers said.

March 2013 rose RM25 to RM2,440 a tonne, April 2013 gained RM10 to RM2,440, May 2013 was RM6 higher at RM2,450 and June 2013 was unchanged at RM2,451.

Turnover increased to 31,687 lots from 23,843 lots while open interest rose to 196,780 contracts from 187,911 contracts.

On the physical market, March South stood at RM2,440 a tonne.

OIL

LONDON: Oil fell below US$110 (US$1.00 = RM3.09) yesterday after data from China revived worries over the economic recovery in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer.

Brent crude fell 53 cents to US$110.32 a barrel by 1205GMT, having earlier reached as low as US$109.90.

US oil slipped eight cents to US$91.78. Brent futures slipped on Friday after the US dollar rose against the yen and the euro following robust growth in US employment.

The market was looking ahead to monthly reports from Opec today and the International Energy Agency tomorrow.

RUBBER

KUALA LUMPUR: Rubber prices closed higher yesterday on the back of a weakening of the ringgit to the US dollar.

A dealer said at the same time, the uptrend was also the result of positive sentiment on the ongoing low-production season.

“The higher opening of the Tokyo Commodity Exchange prices was also a factor.”

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR20 rose 10 sen to 902.5 sen per kg, and latex-in-bulk was 4.5 sen higher at 627 sen per kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR20 improved 4.5 sen to 902 sen per kg, and latex-in-bulk gained 2.5 sen to 627.5 sen per kg.

GOLD

LONDON: Gold was little changed yesterday, with investment demand subdued as the dollar firmed and European shares edged away from multi-year highs on weak Chinese economic data and worries about Italy.

Spot gold was at US$1,577.60 an ounce by 1100GMT, having touched a two-week low of US$1,560.80 after positive US unemployment figures on Friday.

Spot silver fell 0.4 per cent to US$28.85 an ounce.

Spot palladium dropped one per cent to US$772 an ounce, off Friday’s peak at US$784.50. Platinum fell 0.5 per cent to US$1,592.49.

TIN

KUALA LUMPUR: Tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) closed at US$23,650 a tonne, up by US$50, following the uptrend on the London Metal Exchange (LME), dealers said.

The price on the LME rose by US$140 to US$23,800 a tonne.
A dealer said the KLTM price was slightly up but not more than the LME's as the buyers were cautious.

"They wanted to see how the market trades and what's the new price after the weekend break.

"However, today's price is just as what we have predicted last week," he said, adding that tomorrow's price may remain the same as yesterday.

At the opening bell, bids outnumbered offers by 44 tonnes to 32 tonnes. Turnover was 34 tonnes from last week's 45 tonnes, with Europeans, Japanese and local traders dominating trading.

The premium between the KLTM and the LME narrowed to US$280 a tonne from US$370 a tonne last Friday. - Agencies