CPO FUTURES CLOSE HIGHER ON ENERGY GAINS, INDONESIA BIODIESEL EXPECTATIONS

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher on Thursday, tracking gains in energy prices and Indonesia’s biodiesel policy expectations.

Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said palm oil prices are now at a steep discount to gas and oil, as energy prices are moving sharply higher, affecting the development of the biodiesel mandate in Indonesia.

“The palm oil discount against gas oil is generating talks of the introduction of a B50 biodiesel mandate in Indonesia. Additionally, Indonesian palm oil export taxes for April are likely to rise by two brackets, helping Malaysian palm oil prices show independent strength.

“The rise in Indonesian export taxes and tighter export availability would benefit the Malaysian market by attracting fresh destination buying, which could help reduce higher inventories,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the April 2026 contract gained RM78 to RM4,580 per tonne, May 2026 rose RM85 to RM4,619 per tonne, while June 2026 improved RM83 to RM4,611 per tonne.

The July 2026 contract rose RM80 to RM4,580 per tonne, August 2026 increased RM78 to RM4,542 per tonne, while September 2026 advanced RM79 to RM4,504 per tonne.

Trading volume rose to 136,763 lots from 109,385 on Wednesday, while open interest rose to 237,306 contracts from 232,042 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for April South edged up RM70 at RM4,600 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA