KUALA LUMPUR (September 16 2004): Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose onThursday, spurred by top buyer India's move to sharply reduce the baseimport price of edible oils to check rising inflation.

The Indian government on Wednesday cut the base import price of crude palmoil to $454 a tonne from $504, RBD palm oil to $489 from $543, other palmoil to $471 from $523, crude palm olein to $479 from $532, RBD palm oleinto $497 from $552 and other palm olein to $488 from $542.

It also cut the base price of crude soyabean oil to $565 a tonne from$628. India buys palm oils mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia and soyabeanoil from Argentina and Brazil.

It imports nearly half of its annual edible oil needs of more than 10million tonnes.

India fixes base prices to check the government's revenue losses due tounder-invoicing by some importers.

Traders pay import duties on base values irrespective of the prices atwhich they purchase oils.

Malaysian traders have said the move would make palm oil more affordablefor Indian importers.

An impressive 24 percent jump in export of Malaysian oil palm products forSeptember 1-15 from a month and gains in rival Chicago soyaoil futuresalso supported the market.

The new benchmark third-month crude palm oil contract on the MalaysiaDerivatives Exchange, December ended up 16 ringgit, or 1.1 percent, at1,462 ringgit ($384.74) a tonne, off an intrude high of 1,470. Othertraded contracts were up 14 to 22 ringgit. Overall volume was a heavy6,029 lots.

In the physical crude palm oil market, the September contract sawbuyers/sellers at 1,555/1,560 ringgit a tonne in Malaysia's southern andcentral regions, against on Wednesday's close of 1,545/1,550.

Traders were reported at 1,550-1,555 in both regions. October sawbids/offers at 1,540/1,550 ringgit.

Trade was reported at 1,540 ringgit in the south.