CPO FUTURES ENDS HIGHER AMID WEAKER PRODUCTION OUTLOOK

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher on Thursday amid a weaker production outlook in Malaysia, a trader said.

Palm oil trader David Ng said the stronger expected demand for palm oil with Indonesia looking to increase its biofuel mandate also lifted market sentiment.

“Market sentiment was also influenced by higher soybean oil prices. Hence, we see support at RM4,900 per tonne and resistance at RM5,050 per tonne,” he told Bernama.

Fastmarket Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa said CPO futures closed higher after a volatile trading session from a mix of profit-taking and buying momentum.

He said lower production estimates, a higher related vegetable oils performance, and a view of rising palm oil demand in the biodiesel segment supported the higher market today with sporadic profit-taking activities.

“The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) data released after the mid-day session showed October production was unchanged from September following a large fall in output from Peninsular Malaysia offsetting the growth from the state of Sabah,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said CPO prices have moved beyond RM5,000 per tonne for the first time since June 2022.

At the close, spot months November 2024 and December 2024 rose RM39 each to RM5,038 and RM4,996 per tonne, respectively, while January 2025 advanced by RM35 to RM4,952 per tonne.

February 2025 rose by RM35 to RM4,897 per tonne, March 2025 added RM27 to RM4,804 per tonne, and April 2025 was RM13 higher at RM4,690 per tonne.

Trading volume surged to 104,193 lots from 78,859 on Wednesday, while open interest rose to 245,610 contracts from 243,835 previously.

The physical CPO price for November South soared RM50 to RM5,070 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA