Lang
The crude palm oil futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trend lower this week amid weak export demand, according to palm oil trader David Ng.
Ng pointed to sluggish demand for crude palm oil exports, particularly from India, due to the commodity's weakening competitiveness against rival vegetable oils.
"We expect prices to range between 4,100 and 4,300 ringgit this week," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Interband Group's senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said the crude palm oil futures market is likely to see cautious trading this week, with some local and international traders still absent due to the Chinese New Year holiday.
Teh expects prices to range between 3,700 and 3,900 ringgit, with demand continuing from India, Pakistan, the Middle East, the European Union and the United States.
The crude palm oil market was closed on 29 and 30 January for the Chinese New Year holiday.
On a week-on-week basis (Friday to Friday), the February 2025 spot contract rose 64 ringgit to 4,552 ringgit per tonne.
The March 2025 contract also gained 54 ringgit to reach 4,404 ringgit, while the April 2025 contract climbed 73 ringgit to 4,289 ringgit.
Both the May 2025 and June 2025 contracts rose 88 ringgit to reach 4,198 ringgit and 4,140 ringgit per tonne respectively, while the July 2025 contract advanced 76 ringgit to 4,101 ringgit.
Weekly trading volume fell to 162,072 lots, compared with 383,178 lots the previous week, while open interest declined to 219,710 contracts from 222,762 contracts.
The February physical price for crude palm oil in the southern region rose by 100 ringgit to 4,650 ringgit per tonne.
Source: Bernama