CPO Futures' Bullish Trend Expected To Continue Next Week Amid West Asia War

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures trading on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to remain bullish next week in line with firmer crude oil prices driven by uncertainty created by the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said the conflict has been affecting the crude oil market, which in turn boosted the vegetable oil markets, especially palm oil, in terms of biodiesel production.

“Hence we anticipate prices to range between RM4,450 and RM4,680 per tonne next week,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said the United States-Israeli war on Iran has triggered speculative activity in the market, significantly lifting CPO prices.

He expected profit-taking activities to emerge next week, with prices likely to be between RM4,100 and RM4,200 per tonne.

“Shipments to the Middle East have been disrupted due to the ongoing conflict. In terms of supply, Malaysia and Indonesia have sufficient stocks, while demand from Middle Eastern countries is expected to remain limited.

“Physical demand will mainly come from China, Pakistan, India, the European Union and the United States,” Teh said.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the March 2026 contract jumped RM275 to RM4,525 per tonne, April 2026 rose RM203 to RM4,539 per tonne, and May 2026 increased RM205 to RM4,572 per tonne.

The June 2026 contract gained RM297 to RM4,572 per tonne, July 2026 added RM189 to RM4,554 per tonne, and August 2026 advanced RM176 to RM4,523 per tonne.

The weekly trading volume grew to 732,935 lots from 542,086 lots last week, while open interest edged up to 225,355 contracts on Friday from 224,475 a week earlier.

The physical CPO price for March South increased by RM340 to RM4,500 a tonne.

-- BERNAMA