Lang
Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trend lower amid widespread selling across global commodity markets, according to palm oil trader David Ng.
He added that the announcement of US tariffs and weaker soybean oil prices would also weigh on palm oil prices in the coming week.
"Falling demand for palm oil, particularly from the US market, together with weak seasonal demand from India and China, will drag down sentiment," he said.
"We expect prices to trade within a range of 4,100 to 4,400 ringgit per tonne," he added.
Meanwhile, Jim Teh, senior palm oil trader at Interband Group of Companies, said crude palm oil prices are likely to trade between 3,800 and 3,900 ringgit per tonne, with the market remaining cautious following the US tariff announcement.
However, he noted that actual palm oil stock levels are healthy, with no reports of shortages in the market.
"We are awaiting the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) stock position report on industry performance for March 2025, which will be released on 10 April 2025," he added.
Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries were closed on 31 March and 1 April for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday.
On a week-on-week basis (Friday to Friday), the benchmark April 2025 contract fell 60 ringgit to 4,702 ringgit per tonne, the May 2025 contract dropped 77 ringgit to 4,474 ringgit per tonne, and the June 2025 contract slid 91 ringgit to 4,328 ringgit per tonne.
The July 2025 contract also declined 82 ringgit to 4,230 ringgit per tonne, while the August and September 2025 contracts each fell 76 ringgit to 4,163 ringgit and 4,124 ringgit per tonne, respectively.
Weekly trading volume fell to 234,581 lots from 441,127 lots in the previous week, while open interest declined to 256,769 contracts from 258,352 previously.
The physical price of crude palm oil for April in southern Malaysia fell by 50 ringgit to 4,780 ringgit per tonne.
Source: Bernama