CPO FUTURES END HIGHER ON WORRIES OVER WEAKER PALM OIL PRODUCTION

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher on Thursday on concerns over weaker-than-expected palm oil production going forward, said a trader.

Palm oil trader David Ng said stronger soybean oil prices also lifted sentiment for palm oil in the market. “We see support at RM3,800 a tonne and resistance at RM3,980 a tonne,” he told Bernama.

UOB Kay Hian Securities noted that CPO prices are currently trading in the range of RM3,800-RM4,500 a tonne due to short-term weather disruptions and shipment delays at the Red Sea.

“We maintain a CPO price forecast for 2024 at RM4,200 a tonne, with current year-to-date CPO average price of RM4,029 a tonne. We anticipate CPO prices trading higher in the second half of the year (2H2024) due to tighter palm oil supplies, while demand is gradually returning as palm oil regains its pricing competitiveness,” it said in a report.

At the close, the spot month July 2024 contract added RM19 to RM3,945 a tonne, August 2024 gained RM16 to RM3,910 and September 2024 was RM11 higher at RM3,890. The October 2024 note rose by RM13 to RM3,884 a tonne, November 2024 climbed RM10 to RM3,886 and December 2024 gained RM8 to RM3,901.

Total volume increased to 59,948 lots from Wednesday’s 58,236 lots while open interest fell to 204,700 contracts from 206,042 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for July South was RM20 higher at RM4,000 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA