CPO FUTURES CLOSE LOWER ON STRONGER RINGGIT, CONCERNS OVER WEAK DEMAND

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by concerns that a stronger ringgit is dampening demand.

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng noted that demand from key importing countries, particularly China and India, remained subdued.

At 6 pm, the local currency firmed to 3.8995/9060 versus the greenback, strengthening from Wednesday’s close of 3.9110/9170.

Ng said persistent concerns over high palm oil stock levels also pressured the market. "The current stock level in Malaysia is roughly 2.8 million tonnes, which is above the yearly average. We see CPO prices supported above RM4,000 per tonne, with resistance at RM4,180,” he told Bernama.

At the close of trading, the February 2026 and March 2026 contracts lost RM25 each to RM3,978 and RM4,010 per tonne, respectively, while the April 2026 contract fell RM24 to RM4,037.

The May 2026 contract declined RM31 to RM4,043 per tonne, the June 2026 contract went down RM35 to RM4,040, and the July 2026 contract lost RM38 to RM4,033.

Trading volume increased to 88,218 lots from 73,729 on Wednesday, while open interest rose to 225,951 contracts from 218,271 previously.

The physical CPO price for February South dipped RM70 to RM4,050 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA