CPO FUTURES END LOWER ON DROP IN SOYBEAN OIL, WEAK DEMAND

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended lower on Tuesday, dragged by a sharp drop in soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) overnight.

Mumbai-based Sunvin Group's commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani attributed the price pressure to a lack of fresh demand from key destination markets, compounded by deep negative import margins, especially in India. 

"The Malaysian palm oil export for the first half of December was on the lower side, while production also showed signs of easing.

"Meanwhile, the weaker Malaysian ringgit against the US dollar helps to limit the downside in the ringgit-denominated Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) CPO futures," he said.

Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng said that CPO futures closed lower due to the expectation of weaker exports in the coming weeks, which weigh on prices.

"We see support at RM4,700 per tonne and resistance at RM4,950 per tonne," Ng told Bernama.

At the close, the January 2025 contract fell by RM11 to RM4,889 per tonne, February 2025 dropped by RM24 to RM4,801 per tonne, and March 2025 declined by RM33 to RM4,725 per tonne.  

April 2025 slipped by RM23 to RM4,621 per tonne, May 2025 decreased by RM5 to RM4,519, and June 2025 increased RM9 to RM4,427 per tonne.  

Trading volume decreased to 91,037 lots from 98,575 lots on Monday, while open interest fell to 247,337 contracts from 250,062 previously.  

The physical CPO price for January South dropped RM50 to RM5,050 per tonne.  

-- BERNAMA