CPO FUTURES END MIXED AMID CAUTIOUS SENTIMENT

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended the week on a mixed note, fluctuating on both sides of the market as sentiment remained cautious.

Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa observed that palm oil prices typically reach their peak in October before easing, as production enters a seasonally lower output period starting in November.

“For the week, palm futures mostly trended lower, with the active-month contract shedding RM32 from Monday’s opening,” he said.

Sathia added that market sentiment was weighed down by weakness in related vegetable oils, expectations of rising Malaysian production, and softer post-Deepavali export demand, all of which limited upside potential.

Echoing this view, palm oil trader David Ng added that weaker crude oil prices also added pressure to the market.

“As a result, we see support at RM4,430 a tonne and resistance at RM4,650 a tonne,” he said.

At the close, the spot-month November 2025 contract inched up by RM8 to RM4,439 a tonne, while December 2025 eased RM1 to RM4,476 a tonne, and January 2026 slid RM7 to RM4,513 a tonne. 

The February 2026 contract erased RM6 to RM4,527 a tonne, while March 2026 remained unchanged at RM4,518 a tonne, and April 2026 contract advanced by RM3 to RM4,496 a tonne.

Total volume slipped to 84,025 lots from 94,132 lots on Thursday, while open interest increased to 289,323 contracts from 277,195 contracts previously.

On the physical market, October South rose RM10 to RM4,440 a tonne.

-- BERNAMA