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Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade within a narrow range next week, with a slight downside bias driven by anticipated profit-taking activity and softer global energy markets.
Jim Teh, senior palm oil trader at Interband Group of Companies, told Bernama that weakness in energy prices could prompt traders to lock in gains, capping prices in a RM4,300 to RM4,400 per tonne corridor. 'Hence, prices are expected to trade between RM4,300 per tonne and RM4,400 per tonne, despite higher volume of CPO stock for August at 2.8 million tonnes,' he said.
Teh noted that Indonesian palm oil inventories remain elevated, while physical demand continues to flow in from China, India, Pakistan, West Asia, the European Union, and the United States.
David Ng, proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, struck a more constructive tone, forecasting consolidation within a RM4,550 to RM4,750 per tonne range. 'We expect prices to trade within a RM4,550 to RM4,750 per tonne range next week,' he said, adding that price action will likely be guided by palm oil export data and the performance of competing vegetable oils.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the October 2026 contract shed RM223 to settle at RM4,475 per tonne, while November dropped RM222 to RM4,578 and December slipped RM226 to RM4,672.
Further out the curve, January 2027 declined RM215 to RM4,768 per tonne, February fell RM193 to RM4,861, and March eased RM172 to RM4,941.
Trading activity strengthened over the week, with volume rising to 665,059 lots from 561,289 lots the prior week. Open interest climbed to 342,948 contracts from 339,480.
In the physical market, the October South CPO benchmark dropped RM120 to settle at RM4,530 per tonne.
Source: BERNAMA