8:54 am - Monday's Trading PP for 9 June 2008

FKLI Daily PP

FCPO Daily PP

8:19 am - This wud affect FCPO prices to move higher which in turn drive plantation counters, leaving KLCI slightly lower than worst

Oil's biggest day yet drags down stocks NEW YORK (AP) - Oil pricesmade their biggest single-day leap ever Friday, dragging the Dow Jonesindustrials down nearly 400 points and raising the once-unthinkable prospect of$150 oil and more record gas prices by the Fourth of July. The meteoric rise of nearly $11 for the day piled atop an increase of almost$5.50 the day before, taking oil futures more than 13 percent higher in just twodays, easily a record on the New York Mercantile Exchange. And those weren't the only stunning numbers of the day: The government alsoreported the nation's unemployment rate zoomed to 5.5 percent in May, a monthlyrise of half a percentage point, the biggest in 22 years. Oil settled at $138.54, a rise of more than 8 percent. The surged came afterMorgan Stanley analyst Ole Slorer predicted strong demand in Asia and tightsupplies in the Western Hemisphere could drive prices to $150 by IndependenceDay, when millions of Americans take to the roads. That means no end in sight for spiraling gas prices, already above $4 pergallon in much of the country. Even longtime market observers were shocked by the magnitude and speed ofoil's rally. "We're into unchartered territory, and somewhat off the map as far ashistorical precedents are concerned," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energyconsultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. Besides the jump in the unemployment rate, the Labor Department saidemployers had cut 49,000 jobs in May, the fifth straight month of nationwidelosses. Job losses for the year reached 324,000. The White House said President Bush was considering further plans to helpenergize the economy, already teetering on the edge of recession and crippled bya tumbling housing market and other factors. On Wall Street, the Dow plunged 394.64 points, more than 3 percent, to closeat 12,209.81, the biggest drop in more than 15 months in both percentage andpoints terms. Wall Street had managed to shrug off oil's advance on Thursday but succumbedto extreme anxiety Friday. The stock market's great concern of late has been whether consumers wouldcurb their spending on non-essentials as they were forced to pay more for gasand other staples. The previously unthinkable idea of $150 oil, and gasoline that will keepclimbing above $4, made it clear to investors that consumers would be forced tobe even more conservative than they have been in recent months. Before Thursday, oil had receded nearly $13 a barrel from its highs, arespite from its nearly record-every-day march. But the end of the week sent itright back up again. The burst in oil prices also raised the prospect of accelerating inflationby adding to already strained transportation costs -- which will send priceshigher throughout the economy. Light, sweet crude for July delivery officially finished the day at $138.54,up $10.75 on the Nymex. But after the settlement, the contract jumped as high as$139.12. Prices hit a previous record of $135.09 a barrel on May 22, and settledThursday at $127.79. Traders also zeroed in on remarks by an Israeli Cabinet minister who wasquoted as saying his country will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclearprogram. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz added that Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad "will disappear before Israel does," the Yediot Ahronotdaily reported. Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization of PetroleumExporting Countries, and traders worry that any conflict with Israel coulddisrupt global supplies. A further weakening of the dollar also helped send oil prices higher byenticing overseas buyers armed with stronger currencies and others looking for ahedge against the greenback. But it also represented a stampede by bullishtraders and optimistic computer models betting that prices still have further torise. "The bulls ... refuse to go away," said Stephen Schork, an analyst andtrader in Villanova, Pa. Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices at the pump continued to hover just shy of anaverage $4 a gallon, easing only 0.3 cent from Thursday's record. Drivers are now paying an average of $3.99 for a gallon of regular gasnationwide, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service; in manyparts of the country, consumers are already paying well over $4. Retail dieselslipped a penny overnight to $4.76. Pump prices are bound to rise even further if oil sustains its advance.James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firm Liberty TradingGroup, predicted prices could rise to $4.25 as early as the end of the month. "Unfortunately, drivers cutting back isn't going to lower the price ofgasoline anytime soon," he said. The dramatic reversal in what had been a weakening oil market began Thursdayafter ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet suggested the bank could raise interestrates and the euro climbed against the dollar. When interest rates rise inEurope, or fall in the U.S., the dollar tends to weaken against the euro. Many traders buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation whenthe dollar is falling, and a weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for investorsdealing in other currencies. Analysts believe the dollar's protracted declinehas been a major reason why oil prices have nearly doubled in the past year. The euro strengthened further against the greenback Friday. A LaborDepartment report showing the U.S. unemployment rate jumped half a percentagepoint to 5.5 percent last month -- its biggest monthly increase since 1986 --could drag the dollar even lower in the days ahead. "Unemployment jumping as it did today will be in the market for a long timeand will continue to pressure the U.S. dollar," Cordier said. The influx of so much fresh money into the energy markets has caught theattention of federal watchdogs. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissionrecently said it was six months into a probe of U.S. oil markets focused onpossible price manipulation. Asked about Friday's surge, CFTC spokesman R. David Gary said: "People areaware of what's happening and are monitoring the markets closely, but beyondthat there is no comment." In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures jumped 29.32 cents to settle at$3.974 a gallon, while gasoline prices rose 21.35 cents to settle at $3.548 agallon. Natural gas futures rose 17.4 cents to settle at $12.693 per 1,000 cubicfeet. In London, July Brent crude shot up $10.15 to settle at $137.69 a barrel onthe ICE Futures exchange. AP Business Writer Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed reporting. 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