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Lower Soybean Oil Prices, Rising Output Concerns Continue To Drag CPO Futures Lower

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) ended lower for the third straight day today, in line with lower soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). 

Palm oil trader David Ng said concerns over rising output in the coming weeks also kept prices of the golden crop lower. 

“We see support at RM3,950 per tonne and resistance at RM4,200 per tonne,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said despite a bullish recovery in CBOT soybean oil futures overnight, a strong first half of April and Malaysian palm oil export performance, CPO futures opened gap lower this morning following losses in CBOT soybean oil futures and the Dalian Commodity Exchange during Asian hours.

“The macro picture is still unstable, and a stronger South American soybean harvest is capping the recovery attempts in the palm oil market.

Anilkumar said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) estimates Malaysian palm oil export for the April 1-15 period at 491,984 tonnes, up by 16.95 per cent, and by AmSpec at 450,657 tonnes, up by 13.55 per cent from their respective export estimates for the March 1-15 period.

“The market is now waiting for the first half of April production estimates by SPPOMA. 

He said Malaysia has calculated the palm oil reference price for May 2025 at RM4,449.35 per tonne, down from RM4,547.79 per tonne in April 2025, while the export tax for May 2025 would be 10 per cent, which is RM444.94 per tonne compared to RM454.78 per tonne in April 2025. 

At the close, the May 2025 contract declined RM23 to RM4,207 per tonne, June 2025 decreased RM24 to RM4,084 per tonne, July 2025 slid RM28 to RM4,015 per tonne, August 2025 went down RM22 to RM3,986 per tonne, September 2025 lost RM14 to RM3,972, and October 2025 reduced RM6 to RM3,974 per tonne. 

Trading volume weakened to 94,914 lots from 104,470 lots yesterday, while open interest narrowed to 241,905 contracts from 247,195 previously.

The physical CPO price for April South fell RM100 to RM4,300 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA