CPO Futures Seen Range-bound Next Week On Caution Amid Elevated Stock Level
By Abdul Hamid A Rahman
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade range-bound next week on caution amid elevated stock levels.
Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said elevated stock levels could provide an opportunity for buyers to step in at favourable price levels, including those from China, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, the European Union, and the United States.
“With international traders gradually returning from the year-end holidays, prices are expected to remain range-bound between RM3,800 and RM3,900 per tonne,” he told Bernama.
Teh said stronger physical buying could help reduce inventories, which have remained high following elevated stock levels recorded in November.
Kuala Lumpur-based proprietary trader David Ng of Iceberg X Sdn Bhd said market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as buying interest has yet to show signs of improvement amid a seasonal slowdown in consumption. “Ample inventories continue to cap price gains, limiting upside potential despite occasional technical rebounds in the market,” he told Bernama.
Ng also noted that external factors, including the subdued performance of related vegetable oil markets, are expected to further weigh on sentiment, as traders take their cue from softer soybean oil future prices. “In the near term, we expect CPO future prices to trade within a range of RM3,900 to RM4,080 per tonne,” he added.
Industry data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed Malaysia’s CPO stockpiles rose 17.56 per cent month-on-month to 1.74 million tonnes in November 2025 from October levels.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the January 2026 contract slid RM106 to RM3,954 per tonne, February 2026 slipped RM102 to RM3,980 per tonne, and March 2026 shed RM98 to RM3,991 per tonne.
The April 2026 contract fell to RM86 to RM3,999 per tonne, May 2026 dropped RM75 to RM3,997, and June 2026 lost RM85 to RM3,994 per tonne.
The weekly trading volume fell to 166,003 lots from 239,880 lots last week, while open interest rose to 259,181 contracts from 257,694 contracts previously.
The new physical CPO price for January South fell RM80 to RM4,000 a tonne.
-- BERNAMA