KUALA LUMPUR, Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives extended their decline on Wednesday due to profit-taking ahead of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) September 2024 data due tomorrow, said a trader.
Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Dr Sathia Varqa expects production to be lower by one per cent, exports to go up one per cent, and end-month stocks up at an eight-month high.
‘(The prediction is based on) lacklustre export from palms, the lack of competitiveness to soybean oil and lower production due to cyclical low. Additionally, stock levels are high due to lower exports and higher beginning stocks,’ he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Palm oil trader David Ng said CPO futures ended lower today, tracking lower crude oil and the Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) soybean oil futures overnight.
‘We see support at RM4,200 and resistance at RM4,380,’ he said.
Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said Malaysian palm oil exports amounted to 235,785 ton
nes, up by nearly 10 per cent during the first five days of October.
Meanwhile, Johor-based South Palm Oil Manufacturer Association (SPPOMA) data shows that southern peninsular mills palm oil production increased by 8.13 per cent from the same period last month.
‘Malaysian Palm Oil Association has estimated Malaysia’s palm oil production in September is three per cent down from August.
‘The MPOB September supply and demand previews are out, indicating an increase in palm oil inventories on the back of a slower export, while production estimates are also slightly lower,’ he added.
At the close, the spot month October 2024 contract edged down RM6 to RM4,343 per tonne, November 2024 fell RM23 to RM4,293, December 2024 lost RM19 to RM4,252, January 2025 was RM17 lower to RM4,209, February 2025 slid RM12 to RM4,171, and March 2025 eased RM4 to RM4,135.
Trading volume fell to 90,582 lots from 111,187 yesterday, while open interest declined to 248,042 contracts from 250,764 previously.
The physical CPO price f
or October South remained unchanged at RM4,400 per tonne.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
