CPO FUTURES END LOWER, TRACKING WEAKER SOYBEAN, CRUDE OIL PRICES

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower for the third consecutive day, tracking the weakness of soybean oil futures in the Chicago Board of Trade and crude oil prices.

Palm oil trader David Ng said the downside, however, was limited by the prospect of weaker production in the coming weeks.

“We see support at RM4,050 a tonne and resistance at RM4,200,” he told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said the palm oil market was focusing on fresh demand as key buyers were still aside and waiting for a reasonable correction in prices despite the bullish report by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and the stronger palm oil export data in the first half of April.

On CPO prices, MIDF Research, in its research note today, expected prices to moderate in the second quarter of 2024 yet predicted a month-on-month increase of 4.6 per cent to RM4,410.5 per tonne in April due to mild El Nino events. 

Moreover, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, in its Palm Pulse newsletter, anticipated the CPO prices, which surged in March 2024 to hit a peak of RM4,327 a tonne, to move within a stable range of RM4,000 a tonne to RM4,200 a tonne this month. 

At the close, the spot month May 2024 contract slid RM63 to RM4,214 a tonne, June 2024 shed RM70 to RM4,134, and July 2024 lost RM67 to RM4,074. 

The August 2024 note narrowed by RM58 to RM4,016 a tonne, and September 2024 was lower by RM47 to RM3,974, while October 2024 dropped by RM36 to RM3,955 a tonne.

Total volume increased to 92,055 lots from Monday’s 90,982 lots, while open interest was lower at 269,440 contracts from 272,031 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for April South slipped RM140 to RM4,320 a tonne. 

-- BERNAMA