Stronger CPO boosts plantation stocks

CPO futures contracts for May delivery closed substantially higher at RM2674 on Malaysia Derivatives Exchange yesterday. Plantation stocks gained substantially this morning in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Indofood Agri Resources opened higher by 2.5% on SGX, while First Resources, Wilmar, and Kencana Agri---all with plantations in Indonesia, gained 1.9%, 1.5%, and 1.7% respectively. On IDX, Tunas Baru, Sampoerna Agro, and PP London Sumatra advanced further, while BW Plantation declined 1.45%.

CPO futures opened slightly higher this morning with April-June contracts increased 7-11 RM/ton. In Jan and Feb 2010, the average spot month settlement prices were RM2554.9 and RM2541 per ton respectively, increased 35% and 31% from the same months of 2009. (Teguh Hidayat)

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