CPO FUTURES CLOSE LOWER ON WEAKER EXPORTS

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Monday, attributed by the weaker export performance as the stronger ringgit weighed on demand from key importing countries, a trader said.

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said the firmer local currency dampened buying interest and slowing the shipment pace.

“The softer export data reinforced concerns over near-term demand outlook, particularly from major markets such as China and India,” he told Bernama.

At 6 pm, the ringgit strengthened to 3.8885/8925 versus the greenback from last Friday’s close of 3.8995/9055.

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani told Bernama that Malaysia’s palm oil export performance from Feb 1 to Feb 20, 2026 affected the CPO prices.

“Malaysia’s palm oil exports for the Feb 1 to Feb 20 period were estimated by Intertek Testing Services (ITS) at 863,358 tonnes, down by 8.92 per cent and by AmSpec at 779,834 tonnes, down by 12.62 per cent from their respective export estimates for the Jan 1 to Jan 20, 2026 period,” he said.

He added that sentiment was also weighed down by the continuation of the downside momentum from Friday following a long liquidation in Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean oil futures.

At the close, the March 2026 contract fell RM12 to RM4,051 per tonne, April 2026 edged down RM6 to RM4,081 and May 2026 declined RM9 to RM4,083.

The June 2026 contract slipped RM14 to RM4,082 per tonne, while July 2026 and August 2026 lost RM26 to RM4,074 and RM4,073 respectively.

Trading volume dropped to 62,122 lots from 81,717 on Friday, while open interest decreased to 221,427 contracts from 228,011 previously.

The physical CPO price for March South remain unchanged at to RM4,100 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA