Palm futures lower on lack of strong interest

CPO FUTURS

KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil futures prices closed lower today on a lack of strong buying interest, dealers said.

The dealers also said players were reluctant to take a heavy position due to the declining soya oil prices on the Dalian Exchange.

March 2013 slipped RM18 to RM2,382 a tonne, April 2013 lost RM18 to RM2,386, May 2013 was RM14 lower at RM2,397, and June 2013 fell RM13 to RM2,401.

Turnover fell to 31,784 lots from 39,868 lots, while open interest slid to 197,035 from 203,879 contracts previously.

On the physical market, March South declined RM10 to RM2,360.

OIL

LONDON: Oil rose slightly as expectations of steady global consumption growth and a surprise fall in US stockpiles held the benchmark above US$109 (US$1.00 = RM3.09) a barrel.

“Downside risks for oil seem to be very limited,” said Tetsu Emori, a commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments in Tokyo.

Brent crude rose 13 cents to US$109.78 by 1025 GMT, swinging between a high of US$109.89 and a low of US$109.32.

US oil rose 33 cents to US$92.86, gaining for a fifth day in the longest daily winning streak since mid-December.

RUBBER

KUALA LUMPUR: Local rubber prices closed lower for the second consecutive day yesterday tracking a downward trend on Tokyo Commodity Exchange, a dealer said.

He said key TOCOM rubber futures declined over four per cent to a three-month low due to rising rubber inventories and weak stock market performance in China.

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for the SMR 20 fell 27.5 sen to 865 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk eased three sen to 623.5 sen a kg.

The unofficial closing price for the tyre-grade SMR 20 depreciated by 29 sen to 846.5 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk decreased by five sen to 620.5 sen a kg.

GOLD

LONDON: Gold edged higher yesterday to near a 1½ week high on continued concerns about the eurozone after disappointing data on factory output.

The metal hit its highest since February 28 at US$1,598.20 on Tuesday analysts said.

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent to US$1,595.84 by 1109 GMT.

Meanwhile US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.2 per cent to US$1,594.90.

“Gold gains when data shows that the eurozone economy is still suffering,” Commerzbank commodity analyst Daniel Briesemann said.

TIN

KUALA LUMPUR: Tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) closed higher yesterday by US$100 to settle at US$23,750 a tonne on the back of higher price on the London Metal Exchange (LME), a dealer said.

He said the overnight increase was also backed by scattered buying from overseas buyers, particularly the Japanese.

Tin price on the LME rose by US$160 to US$23,885 a tonne. On the local front, turnover increased slightly to 43 tonnes against 41 tonnes at Tuesday’s closing.

The dealer said the market saw firm trading, with demand coming from the Japanese, Europeans and local traders.

At the opening bell, buyers made bids for 55 tonnes, while offers were at 42 tonnes.

The price differential between the KLTM and the LME narrowed to US$295 a tonne from US$355 a tonne Tuesday. - Agencies