MALAYSIA'S PALM OIL ENDS HIGHER, EYES RM1,200
PALM OIL FUTURES -Feb (3rd mth) 1181, Open/High/Low1170/1191/1170, Prev settlement 1157PALM OIL PHYSICAL -Nov (south) 1130, Prev close 1110 , *sellers' quote
PALM OIL FUTURES - Ended higher on gains in CBOT electronic tradingand prospects of good exports and falling stocks in November. Market eyesto touch key resistance of 1,200 ringgit. November 1-25 palm oil exportsdata due next Monday.PALM OIL PHYSICALS - Firmed.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futuresfirmed across the board on Friday due to gains in CBOT soybean electronictrading and prospects of good exports and falling stocks in November,traders said."People ride on gains in CBOT electronic trading. The goodfundamentals are there and the market may touch 1,200 ringgit next week,"said one trader in Kuala Lumpur.At the close, the benchmark third-month February futures rose 24ringgit at 1,181 ringgit ($310.79) a tonne after trading as high as 1,191,just below key resistance of 1,200 ringgit.Volume was extremely heavy at 4,007 lots.Influential private forecaster Ivan Wong forecast end-November stocksat 1.30 million to 1.31 million tonnes, down from 1.34 million tonnes atthe end of October.Wong put November palm oil exports at 935,000 to 940,000 tonnesagainst 899,000 tonnes in October.Some traders have expected November exports to reach between 975,000and one million tonnes because of good demand from major buyers, such asIndia, China and Pakistan.On Monday, cargo surveyors ITS and SGS are scheduled to release theexport figures for the first 25 days of November.One trader said India's palm oil imports from Malaysia and Indonesiawould be steady at around 350,000 tonnes in November and December each, upfrom a normal 250,000 tonnes because of tight soyoil supplies."India will keep buying more palm oil until next March because SouthAmerican soyoil from the new harvest will only start reaching the marketin April," said the trader. "They have no choice but to buy palm oil," headded.Most of the palm oil purchased by India, the world's largest edibleoil importer, will come from Malaysia.Some traders said China's palm oil imports from Malaysia and Indonesiawere expected to be steady at 240,000-250,000 tonnes in November. Chinabought 174,008 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia in October.There was also talk China had used up most of this year's importquotas, which totalled 1.4 million tonnes. One trader said only around170,000 tonnes was left from the quota.In the physical sector, the November contract for the southern regionwas bid/asked at 1,125/1,130 ringgit a tonne. The contract was traded at1,120 to 1,130.The November contract for the central region was bid/asked 1,130/1,135ringgit. Deal was reported at 1,130.The December contract for the southern and central regions wereoffered at 1,140 ringgit against bids at 1,130. Trade was reported at1,135 to 1,140 ringgit for both sides.Among refined products, December RBD palm oil was offered at $322.50 atonne, January at $330 and January/February/March at $335.December RBD olein had offers at $332.50, January at $340 andJanuary/February/March at $345.RBD palm stearin for December was offered at $257.50 andJanuary/February/March at $262.50.December palm fatty acid distillate was offered at $255.