23/08/2013 (The Star) - The following factors are likely to influence Malaysian palm oil futures and other vegetable oil markets.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Palm oil futures rose to their highest level in more than a month on Thursday after poor Malaysian economic data weakened the ringgit and a surprise surge in China's manufacturing sector fuelled demand hopes from the world's No.2 palm oil buyer.

* Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) new-crop November soybean futures fell 1 percent on Thursday and corn tumbled nearly 4 percent as better-than-expected rains in the northern U.S. crop belt eased fears of late-season crop damage.

* U.S. crude oil rose more than $1 on Thursday, while Brent crude rose less and its premium over U.S. crude narrowed by more than $1 in a lightly traded session.

MARKET NEWS
* Global equity markets advanced on Thursday, even as trading of more than 3,000 Nasdaq-listed shares was halted for almost three hours, and bond prices fell after business surveys from around the world reflected a global economy in expansion.

* U.S. natural gas prices rose on Thursday, closing near a one-month high on warmer weather forecasts and tighter-than-expected inventory data, while domestic crude oil prices rose on encouraging economic data from the United States, Europe and China.

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