CPO FUTURES END MOSTLY HIGHER

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed mostly higher on Friday, despite facing some pressure due to weak demand.

Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said the weaker Malaysian palm oil export performance in the first half of January also dampened sentiment.

Data by cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Amspec Agri Malaysia showed that Malaysia’s palm oil export for Jan 1-15 period stood at 567,703 tonnes, down by 15.45 per cent, and at 503,813 tonnes, a decline of 23.74 per cent, respectively, from their Nov 1-15 numbers.

On the production front, the Southern Peninsular Palm Oil Millers Association estimates a 10 per cent drop in output on a month-on-month basis. 

Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng said the CPO futures market reversed most of its earlier losses following a rebound in soybean oil prices during Asian hours. 

He noted that expectations of a slower production pace in the coming weeks are also seen as factors supporting sentiment.

“We see price support at RM4,100 per tonne and resistance at RM4,400 per tonne,” he told Bernama. 

At the close, new contract month February 2025 fell by RM30 to RM4,441 per tonne and the March 2025 contract eased RM18 to RM4,280 per tonne.

However, April 2025 gained RM4 to RM4,190 per tonne, May 2025 rose RM23 to RM4,122 per tonne, June 2025 climbed RM37 to RM4,088 per tonne, and July 2025 increased RM34 to RM4,070 per tonne.

Trading volume fell to 92,079 lots compared with 97,149 lots on Thursday, while open interest eased to 223,575 contracts from 224,569 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for January South fell RM30 to RM4,650 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA