CPO Futures Close Lower Despite Thailand’s Tighter Export Controls

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Tuesday, despite Thailand announcing tighter controls on CPO exports.

Thailand has imposed stricter controls on CPO exports effective today, requiring exporters to obtain prior written approval from the Central Committee on the Price of Goods and Services, in a move aimed at safeguarding domestic supply amid rising export and biodiesel demand.

In a note, CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd said the overall impact is expected to be modest, given Thailand’s relatively small share of global exports compared with Indonesia (52 per cent) and Malaysia (35 per cent).

“We view this as supportive of CPO prices, as tighter export controls could constrain near-term palm oil exports from Thailand,” said the research firm.

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said that in principle, Thailand’s export restrictions should support higher CPO prices.

“CPO prices should be higher; however, the market is also being influenced by movements in related commodities, including soybean oil and crude oil,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the April 2026 contract and May 2026 contract decreased RM49 to RM4,691 per tonne and RM4,730 per tonne, respectively, while the June 2026 contract eased RM46 to RM4,765.

The July 2026 contract declined RM41 to RM4,774 per tonne, the August 2026 contract was RM35 lower to RM4,757 per tonne, and the September 2026 contract dropped RM32 to RM4,729 per tonne.

Trading volume rose to 71,360 lots from 53,566 on Monday, while open interest was slightly higher at 254,857 contracts from 254,035.

The physical CPO price for April South eased RM10 to RM4,750 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA