By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher on Wednesday, driven by improved export data amid positive market sentiment, according to an analyst.

Palm oil trader David Ng attributed the uptrend to better-than-expected export performance and firmer Chicago soybean oil prices.

“We see prices supported at RM4,550 per tonne and resistance at RM4,700 per tonne,” he told Bernama.

On Tuesday, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported that Malaysian palm oil product exports for Feb 1-25 rose by 1.2 per cent to 879,652 tonnes, compared to 868,960 tonnes shipped during the same period last month.

At the close, the March 2025 contract edged up RM5 to RM4,728 per tonne, April 2025 gained RM45 to RM4,700 per tonne, and May 2025 increased RM46 to RM4,611 per tonne.

Meanwhile, June 2025 rose RM50 to RM4,517 per tonne, July 2025 climbed RM36 to RM4,411 per tonne, and August 2025 advanced RM31 to RM4,344 per tonne.

Trading volume declined to 65,530 lots from 69,259 lots recorded yesterday, while open interest narrowed to 241,609 contracts compared to 244,430 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for March South remained unchanged at RM4,850 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA