CPO FUTURES CLOSE HIGHER ON STRONGER CRUDE OIL PRICES AMID US-IRAN CONFLICT

By K. Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher today, supported by a rally in crude oil prices amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. 

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said CPO surged above RM4,100 per tonne as escalating tensions in the Middle East drove crude oil prices higher, which in turn lent support to palm oil prices.

“We see CPO prices supported above RM4,050 with resistance at RM4,250 per tonne,” he told Bernama.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil price rose 7.22 per cent to US$78.13 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa said CPO futures climbed by more than RM100, in line with the sharp rise in crude oil prices amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

“Related vegetable oils also advanced, with palm olein and rapeseed oil closing more than one per cent higher, while soybean oil ended marginally higher,” he said. 

At the close, the March 2026 contract gained RM69 to RM4,058 per tonne, April 2026 put on RM102 to RM4,132 per tonne, and May 2026 increased RM105 to RM4,147 per tonne.

June 2026, July 2026 and August 2026 contracts were also higher, gaining RM104 each to settle at RM4,150, RM4,147 and RM4,142 per tonne, respectively.

Trading volume increased to 85,168 lots from 63,409 on Friday, while open interest decreased to 224,728 contracts from 227,706 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for March South rose by RM40 to RM4,090 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA