By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade quietly next week due to the Chinese New Year festivities, according to Interband Group of Companies' senior palm oil trader, Jim Teh.
He noted that with many traders likely to be on holiday, the price range will focus on profit-taking, generally between RM3,700 and RM4,000.
"Physical demand will come from India, Pakistan, the Middle East, the European Union, and the United States, with no shortage of palm oil expected next week," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng forecasted that the CPO market will trade sideways, owing to the shorter trading week and a lack of market cues.
“We expect prices to range between RM4,100 per tonne and RM4,280 per tonne next week,” he said.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the February 2025 spot-month contract rose by RM47 to RM4,488 per tonne, while the March 2025 contract increased by RM70 to RM4,350 per tonne, and the April 2025 contract climbed by RM26 to RM4,216 per tonne.
In contrast, the May 2025 contract dropped by RM12 to RM4,110 per tonne, the June 2025 contract slid RM36 to RM4,052 per tonne, and the July 2025 contract declined by RM45 to RM4,025 per tonne.
Weekly trading volume fell to 383,178 lots from 445,885 lots the previous week, while open interest declined to 222,762 contracts on Friday, compared to 223,575 contracts a week earlier.
The physical CPO price for February South fell by RM100 to RM4,550 per tonne.
-- BERNAMA
