CPO Futures Likely To Stay Bearish Next Week

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trend lower next week, tracking sluggish export performance, said palm oil trader David Ng.  

Ng told Bernama the weak export pace could weigh on CPO prices as traders adopt a cautious stance.  

Independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported that Malaysian palm oil product exports fell 8.5 per cent in February to 1,009,634 tonnes from 1,103,496 tonnes in January.  

Similarly, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services noted that exports declined 11.0 per cent to 1,061,765 metric tonnes from 1,192,328 metric tonnes last month.  

"We expect prices to trade between RM4,450 and RM4,700 next week," Ng said.  

Meanwhile, Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said most analysts at a recent palm oil conference expected prices to remain under pressure due to profit-taking.  

"Nevertheless, demand should stay firm, particularly from Muslim-majority countries ahead of the Aidilfitri festive season," he added.  

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, spot month March 2025 fell RM134 to RM4,729 per tonne, April 2025 slipped RM117 to RM4,645, and May 2025 lost RM110 to RM4,554.  

June 2025 declined RM93 to RM4,455, July 2025 dropped RM77 to RM4,364, while August 2025 eased RM65 to RM4,302.  

Weekly trading volume shrank to 348,129 lots from 435,333 lots the previous week, while open interest narrowed to 241,330 contracts from 243,818.  

The physical CPO price for March South fell RM100 to RM4,800 per tonne. 

-- BERNAMA