Lang
Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to remain in a bullish trend next week in line with higher crude oil prices, driven by uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
David Ng, a proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, said the conflict has affected the crude oil market, which in turn supported vegetable oil markets, especially palm oil, because of its role in biodiesel production.
He told Bernama: “Therefore, we expect prices to range between RM4,450 and RM4,680 per tonne next week.”
Meanwhile, Jim Teh, senior palm oil trader at Interband Group of Companies, said the US-Israeli war on Iran sparked speculative activity in the market, pushing crude palm oil prices significantly higher.
He expected profit-taking to emerge next week, with prices likely to range between RM4,100 and RM4,200 per tonne.
Teh added that shipments to the Middle East have been disrupted because of the ongoing conflict. In terms of supply, Malaysia and Indonesia have sufficient stocks, while demand from Middle Eastern countries is expected to remain limited.
He said actual demand will mainly come from China, Pakistan, India, the European Union, and the United States.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the March 2026 contract jumped by RM275 to RM4,525 per tonne, while April 2026 rose by RM203 to RM4,539 per tonne. May 2026 increased by RM205 to RM4,572 per tonne.
The June 2026 contract gained RM297 to RM4,572 per tonne, July 2026 added RM189 to RM4,554 per tonne, and August 2026 advanced by RM176 to RM4,523 per tonne.
Weekly trading volume increased to 732,935 lots from 542,086 lots in the previous week, while open interest rose slightly to 225,355 contracts on Friday from 224,475 contracts a week earlier.
The physical crude palm oil price for March South delivery rose by RM340 to RM4,500 per tonne.
Source: Bernama