CPO Futures End Higher On Sluggish Production Pace

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher due to sluggish production pace in coming weeks, palm oil dealer David Ng said.

However, he noted that the upward price movement is constrained by the weakening demand from major importing countries, such as India and China. 

“We see support at RM4,150 a tonne and resistance at RM4,300 a tonne,” Ng told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa said CPO futures ended marginally higher as traders turned anxious about weaker export fundamentals and profit-taking.

Malaysia’s palm oil exports for Jan 1-20, 2025, posted a decrease compared to Dec 1-20, 2024, with the inspection company Intertek Testing Services reporting that the exports fell to 736,213 tonnes from 900,004 tonnes, a reduction of 163,791 tonnes or 18.20 per cent.

Similarly, Sathia said that the independent inspection company Amspec Agri Malaysia reported a decline from 889,992 tonnes to 685,373 tonnes, a decrease of 204,619 tonnes, or 23.0 per cent.

At the close, the new contract month of February 2025 increased by RM29 to RM4,470 per tonne, and the March 2025 contract rose RM24 to RM4,304 per tonne.

The April 2025 contract climbed RM16 to RM4,206 per tonne, May 2025 advanced RM21 to RM4,143 per tonne, June 2025 edged up RM24 to RM4,112 per tonne, and July 2025 rose RM21 to RM4,091 per tonne.

Trading volume fell to 58,179 lots compared with 92,079 lots last Friday, while open interest eased to 222,880 contracts from 223,575 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for January South decreased RM20 to RM4,630 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA