Kuala lumpur: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower, influenced by weaker global vegetable oil prices following the Maulidur Rasul public holiday in Malaysia.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market faced additional pressure due to underwhelming Malaysian palm oil export performance for August 1-25 and a slower-than-anticipated decrease in production rates. Anilkumar Bagani, head of commodity research at the Mumbai-based Sunvin Group, highlighted the lack of fresh demand as a contributing factor, noting CPO's pricing relative to gasoil and soybean oil.

Anilkumar pointed out that the market is awaiting the Malaysian Palm Oil Association's (MPOA) data on palm oil production from August 1-20 for more insights. He reported that Intertek Testing Services (ITS) estimated Malaysian palm oil exports for August 1-25 at 1.05 million tonnes, a 20 percent drop from the same period in July. UOB Kay Hian provided an estimate for Malaysian palm oil production, projecting a range between a three percent decline and a one percent increase compared to the July 1-20 period.

In terms of futures contracts, the September 2026 contract decreased by RM90 to RM4,630 per tonne, while the October 2026 contract fell by RM98 to RM4,761 per tonne. The November 2026 contract slipped RM94 to RM4,852 per tonne. For subsequent months, the December 2026 contract was down RM82 to RM4,931 per tonne, January 2027 slid RM68 to RM4,996 per tonne, and February 2027 declined RM58 to RM5,041 per tonne.

Trading volume saw an uptick to 114,373 lots from the previous 79,190, with open interest rising to 348,842 contracts from 343,401 contracts. The physical CPO price for September South decreased by RM70 to RM4,640 per tonne.