Kuala lumpur: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is anticipated to face a bearish trend in the upcoming week, primarily due to expected increases in palm oil production, a trader has stated.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, palm oil trader David Ng highlighted that the market's performance is likely to be further affected by a decline in seasonal demand for palm oil. He noted, "Hence, we expect prices to trade between RM4,000 and RM4,150 per tonne next week."

Interband Group of Companies' senior palm oil trader, Jim Teh, also shared his outlook, predicting CPO prices to range between RM3,900 and RM4,000 per tonne, influenced by a high stock position anticipated for October 2025. He emphasized that this pricing would be favorable for planters, considering the strengthening of the ringgit currency.

Teh further explained that palm oil demand is experiencing a slowdown as China increases its purchases of soybean oil from the United States, a situation exacerbated by the typical year-end demand decline. Nevertheless, he mentioned that physical demand would persist from regions such as India, Pakistan, the European Union, the Middle East, and the United States.

In terms of weekly performance, the December 2025 contract saw a decrease of RM50 to RM4,050 per tonne. Similarly, the January 2026 contract fell by RM65 to RM4,063 per tonne, and February 2026 dropped by RM76 to RM4,069 per tonne. March 2026 experienced a decline of RM81 to RM4,078 per tonne, April 2026 fell by RM85 to RM4,082 per tonne, and the May 2026 contract held steady at RM4,084 per tonne.

Moreover, the weekly trading volume rose to 481,674 lots, compared to 402,878 lots from the previous week, while open interest increased to 287,400 contracts from the prior count of 269,476 contracts. The physical CPO price for December South saw a gain of RM20, reaching RM4,100 a tonne.