Crude Palm Oil Futures Seen Higher Next Week on Weak Output Outlook

Crude palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade higher next week amid expectations of weaker production.

David Ng, a trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, said crude palm oil output typically declines in February due to festivities such as the Lunar New Year and the shorter number of working days in the month, which reduce harvesting and transport activity. He told Bernama: "We expect prices to trade between 4,000 and 4,130 ringgit per tonne next week."

The Malaysian Palm Oil Association projected that Malaysia's palm oil production would fall by 12.29% for the period from 1 to 20 February, while UOB Kay Hian forecast a decline of between 12% and 16% compared with the same period in January.

Jim Teh, senior palm oil trader at Interband Group of Companies, took a different view, predicting that crude palm oil futures would trend lower next week due to high stock levels in Malaysia and Indonesia, forecasting a trading range of 3,850 to 3,900 ringgit. He added that lower prices would also help draw down Malaysia's crude palm oil stocks.

Contract performance and prices

Comparing the past two Fridays, the performance of 2026 contracts was as follows:

• March contract: down 74 ringgit to 3,989 ringgit per tonne.
• April contract: down 57 ringgit to 4,030 ringgit.
• May contract: down 50 ringgit to 4,042 ringgit.
• June contract: down 50 ringgit to 4,046 ringgit.
• July contract: down 57 ringgit to 4,043 ringgit.
• August contract: down 61 ringgit to 4,038 ringgit.

Trading volume and open interest

Weekly trading volume rose to 313,593 lots, compared with 194,724 lots in the previous week, while open interest shrank to 227,706 contracts from 228,011 contracts in the prior period.

The physical CPO price for March in the southern region fell by 50 ringgit to 4,050 ringgit per tonne.

Source: Bernama