Indonesia lowers palm oil price: Indonesia has lowered the base price of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) to $430/tonne from $535/tonne and that of RBD (Refined, Bleached, Deodorised) olein to $460/tonne from $580/tonne, trade sources said. "The government has introduced the new base prices. We are still waiting for details of base prices for other products," said one source in Medan, North Sumatra.

Asia crude eyes IOC tender result:The results of Indian Oil Corp's (IOC)latest crude purchase tender and news of a possible US air strike against an Iraqi oil pipeline dominated market attention in Asian crude oil trade. Details of the IOC's supplementary April tender remained sketchy, but traders said India's state oil firm is likely to have bought three cargoes of Dubai of 5,00,000 barrels each from Swiss traders, rather than a total of three million barrels of Dubai as earlier rumoured. In the previous crude purchase tender for April, IOC bought four cargoes of Dubai.

LME to charge strike prices: The London Metal Exchange (LME) said that it will introduce additional strike prices for nickel and tin options. In a notice the exchange said recommendation from strike price gradations on nickel and tin post $50 from 100 for strike prices up to 7,500 per tonne. For strike price gradations above 7,500 will remain at $10. The extra strike prices will be introduced on May 5, with the first tradable month being June 1999.

Indonesian olein stable: Indonesian palmolein prices were mostly stable in mid-morning trading on last Monday as buyers started to replenish their stocks after being absent for a while from the market. "We sold 600 tonnes of olein in Java this morning, which is not bad given the fact the market has been dead for the past few weeks. Normally, sales are more than 900 tonnes," said one trader in Medan, North Sumatra. Olein was mostly stable at 3,600 rupiah/kg in Jakarta. Crude palm oil was quoted at 2,900 rupiah/kg. One trader in Jakarta said the market was waiting for details on the new base prices of CPO and its by-products. Trade sources said the government had lowered the base price of crude palm oil (CPO) to $430/tonne from $535/tonne and that of RBD (refined, bleached, deodorised) olein to $460/tonne.

Asian crude outlook: Asia's crude prices are expected to weaken this week as fears of a supply shortage dissipate on China's confirmation of full March Daqing term nominations to Japan. On Middle East crudes, traders said April tradingwould likely pick up as the official prices roll out this week but did not expect any surprises amid a fundamentally steady market. Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG) was the first to release its retroactive February crude price, setting the level at a 38 cent discount to the average of benchmark Dubai crude, unchanged from the January spread.

Taiwan to buy 1,08,000 tonne corn: Taiwan grain buyers plan to buy 1,08,000 tonnes of corn for May delivery and may place tenders whenever prices appear reasonable, traders said. "We have completed most corn purchases for March and April, and there is a need for two shipments for May," said a senior executive of a major local grain buying group. The executive said each shipment would comprise 54,000 tonnes of corn and the tenders would be placed "at the most appropriate time when prices are the most reasonable".

ACCESS crude firms: NYMEX ACCESS crude prices strengthened in reaction to bullish American Petroleum Institute (API) stocks data. AprilWest Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude on the after hours ACCESS trading was up 16 cents per barrel at $12.67.